OK, parents! I developed the following test to help you determine whether your current estate plan will protect your kids. This is really important stuff to figure out now! You don't want your family to have to pick up the pieces after you're gone. So go ahead and take the test to see how you measure up!
Give yourself a point for each question that you answer "yes" to:
1. Have you executed a will or other estate planning documents?
2. Have you named a long-term guardian for your kids?
3. Have you named at least 4 alternate guardians?
4. Do you have a fail-proof plan to cover the immediate care of your kids if something happens to you?
5. Have you eliminated the possibility of someone contesting your guardian appointment?
6. Have you eliminated the possibility that your kids are involved in custody & child support battles after your death?
7. Do you have life insurance or sufficient assets to care for your child if something happens to you?
8. Have you named someone responsible to handle your kids' finances and inheritance?
9. Have you made sure that your estate will not be eaten up with unwanted medical and legal costs?
10. Have you made sure that your estate will not be eaten up with probate costs, as well as the time and publicity that entails probate?
RESULTS
0-4 Your kids are probably in danger if something happens to you! See the explanations for the questions below. You may want to consult an estate planning attorney to review your plan and add to it or revise it, if necessary. Call our office at (503) 235-5150, and we can either set up a free Initial Planning Consultation, or, if you live outside the Portland, Oregon are, we can refer you to an attorney who is experienced in Estate Planning for Families with minor children.
5-9 You are very close to developing a perfect estate plan that will protect your kids. You may want to consult an estate planning attorney to review your plan and add to it or revise it, if necessary. Call our office at (503) 235-5150, and we can either set up a free Initial Planning Consultation, or, if you live outside the Portland, Oregon are, we can refer you to an attorney who is experienced in Estate Planning for Families with minor children.
10 Congratulations! You must feel great, knowing that your kids are protected if something happens to you! If you have the time, I'd really like it if you could give me a call at (503) 235-5150 or shoot me an email at Candice@CandiceAistonLaw.com to give me the name of the attorney who prepared your plan. I'd like to see about adding that attorney to my referral list, as I do get contacted from time to time by people who are not in my area, or people who would work better with a different personality.
EXPLANATIONS
1. Have you executed a will or other estate planning documents?
A common saying in estate planning is that everyone has an estate plan. You may not have a will, and so your estate plan is whatever your state's law says it is. It will be up to a judge to determine what happens to your kids and what happens to your assets. Most likely, your kids will be placed with the "next-of-kin," with some exceptions, and your money and assets will be held in a court-appointed trust. The court will also appoint someone to handle the trust, and that person will be entitled to be paid from your estate (the trust). Each child will receive his or her share of the trust on his or her 18th birthday.
2. Have you named a long-term guardian for your kids?
If you haven't named a guardian, the court will appoint one for you. It will most likely be the "next-of-kin." This can be a problem if you would have picked someone different.
3. Have you named at least 4 alternate guardians?
You may have picked someone that you're really close with. Well, what if you are in the same accident? If you haven't named alternate guardians, you're right back to having the court pick on for you.
4. Do you have a fail-proof plan to cover the immediate care of your kids if something happens to you?
It may take the court anywhere from a few weeks to a year or more to finalize a guardianship appointment. What will happen to your child in the meantime? If you don't have a plan for the short-term, your child could end up in foster care, being cared for by strangers and being enrolled in a strange new school while everything is sorted out.
5. Have you eliminated the possibility of someone contesting your guardian appointment?
If there is anyone that you think would possibly challenge your guardian appointment, it is extremely important to eliminate the possibility that they contest the guardianship. Otherwise, the best-case scenario is that your chosen guardian will spend thousands of dollars and hours defending the appointment; and the worst-case scenario is that your guardian can't afford to defend the appointment, so the person contesting it wins. If you are not entirely sure the person will challenge the appointment and don't want to hurt their feelings over the matter, there are ways to eliminate the possibility that they challenge, while still keeping the matter totally private unless absolutely necessary.
6. Have you eliminated the possibility that your kids are involved in custody & child support battles after your death?
If you have named a married couple as guardians, you have brought on the possibility that your child will be involved in custody and child support battles after your death. This could result in your child being raised by someone you wouldn't have chosen (such as, your sister's husband), and the person you would have chosen paying child support to that person.
7. Do you have life insurance or sufficient assets to care for your child if something happens to you?
The only people who don't need life insurance are the uber-wealthy, but I will bet you that even they have life insurance, because it adds so much value to an estate (and helps to pay estate taxes). How will your guardian take care of your kids if something happens to you? Be responsible, and get life insurance while you are young and healthy! (And I don't sell it, so you should trust what I'm saying!) You don't want your guardian to have to bow out because they can't afford it, and you want to make sure your kids don't have to live like Little Orphan Annie (before Daddy Warbucks stepped in) if something happens to you!
8. Have you named someone responsible to handle your kids' finances and inheritance?
If you haven't named someone to handle your kids' finances, the court will appoint someone for you, and they will be paid from your estate for their services.
9. Have you made sure that your estate will not be eaten up with unwanted medical and legal costs?
Two words for you: Terri Schiavo. You probably remember that her family fought for 13 years over whether or not she should be taken off life support. That's 13 years of medical care and legal fees. It all could have been solved ahead of time. If she did want to be kept alive, she could have looked into a long-term care plan. Whether she wanted to be kept alive or not, she should have properly documented her wishes to make them known. Two more words for you: Britney Spears. You may remember that poor Britney was (allegedly) drugged by her manager and went coo-coo for a while. Her parents had to initiate conservatorship proceedings to save her from her manager, who was looting her bank account while she was in her drug-induced daze. It could have been solved a head of time.
10. Have you made sure that your estate will not be eaten up with probate costs, as well as the time and publicity that entails probate?
If you have assets worth over a certain amount ($200K in Oregon), a will-based plan will not save you from probate. Your estate will be looking at thousands of dollars in costs, as well as a time-delay of several months (while assets may be frozen), and everything being a matter of public record. That includes your kids' names and ages, the name and address of your guardian, and how much money your kids will inherit on their 18th birthdays.
