This question from an advice column my wife enjoys addresses one of the most common concerns I hear from my younger clients. I’ve known many parents of young children who have put off making an Estate Plan because they can’t pick a guardian for the kids, and as a father, I absolutely understand why. There are a lot of factors to consider, and it’s a very personal and very scary thing to imagine your children being raised by someone else. For an only child like myself, not having a sibling to consider as the first choice adds another layer of complication. (My wife is not an only child, which made our choice easier. If something should happen to us, our son will go to his aunt and uncle in Alabama.)

I can’t tell you who you should choose as your child’s guardian, but I will point out that like the advice columnist here, you can change your mind. This is one reason I like to check in with all my clients about every two years to find out what may have changed in your life. There are a lot of reasons that you may change your mind about the person you initially name as guardian and changing your will to reflect that is not a silly thing to do, as this column suggests. Your Estate Plan should reflect your wishes, and trust me, it is much easier to make changes now than it would be after something has happened. 

Choosing a guardian may be difficult, but naming them in your will is simple. For clients with minor children, it’s included as another paragraph in the will, just like naming your executor or directing who should inherit your personal property. Changing the guardian is also easy to do, and depending on the age and contents of the rest of your will, it may not even be necessary to re-write the whole thing. If you have questions about guardianship or need to start your planning, get in touch. 

See you on the trail.