New parents may find themselves overwhelmed with both joy and responsibilities. Taking good care of the young ones may involve estate planning. As much as parents might not want to think about their passing, doing so allows for making arrangements to care for their children. Performing no estate planning in Texas could complicate matters and might lead to results not reflective of the parents’ wishes.
Looking out for the child’s financial well-being
A young child, or even a young adult, may not have the funds to pay for college and health insurance, along with other expenses. Perhaps taking out a life insurance policy could provide a solution to such concerns. How much life insurance the parents purchase may depend on estimated needs. Maybe the parents should discuss the amount of life insurance with an attorney.
Purchasing life insurance might alleviate some burdens, but there are so many other responsibilities associated with caring for a child. The estate planning process might benefit from making prudent decisions about choosing a guardian and a trustee.
A guardian takes custodial care of the child. The guardian may choose where the young person attends school, looks after his/her health, and otherwise performs parental duties. Be mindful that the court could overrule the directives to choose a specific guardian if it feels the guardian is not capable.
A trustee handles financial matters. If the parents leave life insurance and a sizable estate, the trustee could invest the money, file and pay taxes, and provide the child with a stipend.
Living documents and other estate planning matters
Parents could suffer an illness or experience an accident that leaves them incapacitated. Who will make decisions about health care or, possibly, life support? A living will allows someone to make decisions about his/her health care directives in advance. A health care proxy establishes some to make those decisions.
Writing a will and creating a trust might be vitally important steps. Doing so with the help of an attorney could make things easier. Estate planning might prove challenging when considering a child’s welfare. An attorney’s advice could lead to parents gaining a better understanding of the process.
