CHOOSING A GUARDIAN FOR YOUR CHILDREN

If you have young children, it is important that you name someone to be the guardian of the children in the event that you pass away. To do this, you need to make a Will. An estate planning attorney can help you make a Will. However, you need to choose an appropriate guardian. Here are a few tips.

The most important thing is to pick someone who is responsible and willing to serve as guardian. You want someone you know who will raise your children appropriately. That might be a family member or it might be someone else. You should also speak to that person ahead of time and make sure that he or she is willing to raise your children if anything should happen to you.

In most cases, the court will appoint the person you designate to be the guardian. However, sometimes the court might have a good reason not to. Because of something you do not know about, the person you chose might not be an appropriate person to raise your children. For this reason, you might want to also consider appointing a backup guardian. That is someone the court can appoint if the first person cannot be the guardian.

An estate planning attorney can create a Will that designates your choice for a guardian of your minor children and your backup choice.