Choosing A Guardian for Your Child | Minnesota Law

Choosing a Guardian for Your Child

When you think of estate planning, the first thing that comes to your mind might be leaving assets to your children.

Minnesota Guardianship law does a bit more in that you can find someone who can take care of your children when you’re unavailable. Similar to how you can give durable power of attorney to another party, guardianships can be put in place to help you out while you’re still alive.

As a kind of introduction to guardianships for your family, you should think of them as wills for your kids.

Though, it means involving real people not just paper documents. That’s to say that if you don’t have a proper one set into place, a judge will probably have to figure out what’s to be done about the situation. Just as people might be asking where your assets will go, they’ll probably also be asking where your kids will go. Granting guardianship over your kids answers the latter question.

Do Not Let a Judge Choose for You

A judge might have to do it otherwise. That’s the short answer to why picking out a guardian is important for your kids. Say that you and the spouse passed away, leaving a judge to contemplate what’s to be done about your offspring’s welfare. Your choice for a guardian may not even come to the judge’s mind. In almost every estate planning matter, unless you do things the legal way, people might not be able to carry out your plans whatsoever.

If you’re willing to say that something should be done, act on it ahead of time. Your family and friends may not be perfect, but think about who can take care of the children. That’s a huge part. Who has the finances to take care of them, who will raise them to be qualitative individuals, and who will teach them the values that you want them to have are all questions you should contemplate. You may even want to sit down and plan things out.

Backup to a Guardian for Your Child

The person you name as your children’s guardian probably wants your input if they plan on raising your kids just as you intend. That kind of conversation isn’t one that you can summarize in a one-page document and leave them to figure out the rest. Values, expectations, parenting techniques, and college hopes could all be on the table. You’re really finding your children’s next parent here.

They might not become your life partner or adopt the kids, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t make any impact on their lives. Whoever you designate to be their guardian might end up making serious medical decisions for your kids. As far as you’re concerned, treat this like you would treat an adoption, save that you’re not the one adopting. You’re not losing your kids. You’re not forfeiting your rights as a parent. You’re setting up backup for when you can no longer be there for them.

Military Families

Military families face hardships just like any other families. Though, sometimes those hardships come in the form of a parent being stationed away while their child needs them the most. Having a primary and alternative guardian live near your family can make things safer, ensuring that someone can be there in case medical emergencies happen on either side. Life isn’t always ice cream and cake. And the fact is that you can’t always be there to be their hero.

You might want them help provide education for your children. You might want them to fill in the parental role when you’re on tour. Whatever you want your children’s guardian to be has got to be voiced while you still can. It’s time to deal with the reality that you may fall outside of or during combat. Leaving them a fortune is one thing, but leaving them a flesh and blood human being is a whole new level.

Single Parent Household

Being a single mom or dad takes a lot of work. Maybe you just became a single parent due to the loss of your partner. The situation matters little compared to how you handle it. What matters is having someone for them. The sad thing is that you might be the only one to be there for them. Selecting a guardian might be the best option for you and your kids. Unlike dating, there doesn’t need to be any roses or movie nights.

If you’ve been doing this for a while, you probably know how much time that you need to dedicate to your family and good on you for it. However, it’s possible you could become incapacitated, be called away for duty, have to visit a sick relative in another state, or want to see your favorite band in another country. Death is not the only time in which you may want a guardian to be there for your kids. Give them a more stable life by helping bring someone new into their reality.

Minnesota Guardianship Lawyers

Finding a guardian might not be your problem. Perhaps your kids’ uncles and aunts are leaping at the chance. Working out the legal details and jargon is another thing. That’s why you may want a guardianship lawyer from Flanders Law Firm LLC. You can grab a free quote at 612-424-0398 before you begin and go from there.

Don’t worry about getting your kids involved unless you feel they might want to have say in the mater. This isn’t putting them up for adoption. This is helping ensure that they can have a better tomorrow. If you really feel pressured to give your children a home with two parents, guarantee that at least one person will be there when you can’t be.