| The Law Office of |
Elder Law & Estate Planning |
Call For an Appointment |
| THOMAS W. REZANKA |
(727) 787-3020 |
|
| Serving Others Since 1980 |
Palm Harbor, Florida |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
 |
| Have you safeguarded your child's future? |
Minor Beneficiaries
Planning for minor beneficiaries often addresses: (1) Who will take care of the child and (2) how will the child’s money be managed?
Appointment of Guardian
Notwithstanding the survivorship of a natural parent, whether still married or divorced at the time of your death, setting forth your preference of appointment of a guardian for the minor child can easily be accomplished through your last will and testament. This can be critical if there is a particular family member or family friend whom you want to take care of the child in the event of your death. Failing to express your preference in appointment of a guardian will leave the decision up to the court.
How will the child’s money be managed
It might be rare for a guardianship court to separate the custody of a minor child from the management of guardianship assets, and therefore establishing a trust, even under your will, for minor children is advisable.
Under current custodian and guardianship law, without some preplanning, a competent minor child will receive his or her entire inheritance upon reaching the age of eighteen, regardless of his or her level of responsibility or maturity. Can you imagine how most eighteen year olds would handle the receipt of several hundred thousand dollars worth of assets (or more), easily convertible into cash? Chances are it would be gone in no time at all. The only way to prevent a competent child from receiving his or her total inheritance in a lump sum at age eighteen is to establish a trust, usually a testamentary trust, for the benefit of that child so that he or she does not receive the entire inheritance at age 18, the age when a minor’s guardianship ends and all guardianship assets are ultimately placed into the
child’s hands (which child is now technically an adult). With a testamentary trust incorporated into your will you can pick a more suitable age for ultimate distribution to that child and choose who will be in charge of the assets through the management of that trust. The trust can provide for health care, education, vacations, food and shelter, and almost any level of flexibility or restraint you, as the trust creator, see fit to include.
|
Want to hear more on this topic? |
 |
|
Listen to Audio |
|
|