More than likely the reason for establishing your estate plan is to ensure that your family is financially secure after you are gone. Estate planning for families with minor children can present challenges and difficult decisions for parents. The challenges stem from the minor’s legal restrictions on ownership of the property and from the parents’ desire to gift assets to a minor, but deferring actual possession of the minor until the minor reaches a certain level of maturity or at least the coming of age. In addition, planning for minors also involves planning for the custody of the minor in the event that both parents die before the minor reaches the age of majority.

The guardian of your minor children can be named in your will. In the absence of a compelling reason not to do so, the court will generally accept your choice of guardian. Once appointed, the guardian has a significant impact on the value system, religious beliefs, education and, in general, the development of the child into adulthood. Accordingly, you should carefully consider your choice of guardian and discuss the prospect of guardianship with the persons you appoint.

Once a guardian is chosen, the most effective way to ensure that each of your children receives the financial support necessary to ensure they are well cared for is to establish your Revocable Trust and draft a provision that would create separate share Trusts upon your death. . A “separate stock trust” is so called because a separate trust is created for each of your children. This can make it easier for parents to take into account the differences in the needs and propensities of each child. If a child has special medical or educational needs, or if there is a large difference in the ages of the children, the parents can set the appropriate share of the estate and can set the terms of the distribution accordingly. Therefore, by using the separate participation trust, you can ensure that each child is cared for according to her specific needs.

In Separate Share Trust the parent/grantor can decide under what circumstances and at what age each child is mature enough to take possession of the assets. This will ensure that children do not recklessly waste funds when they turn 18. However, one drawback to using “separate share” trusts with multiple children is difficulty in administration. Depending on the provisions of the trust agreement, the trustee (who does not have to be the legal guardian) may be required to account to each beneficiary separately and may be required to maintain records of the net distributable income attributable to each beneficiary for tax purposes. about rent.

A grantor does not need to have a large estate to create a trust. The assets you leave your children may add up faster than you think. If she adds the equity in her home, savings and investment accounts, she may have more than $75,000. In these cases, a trust is usually the best solution. In addition, the trust could be financed with life insurance policies that can increase the value of your estate much more. Once established, the trust would provide for the care and education of the children and make money available to them as they reach certain indicative ages of maturity 18, 21, 25, 30, 35 or any other ages you specify. You have worked hard to provide your family with a bright future. Plan accordingly and make sure your work creates the best opportunities imaginable for your children.