Who makes decisions for my minor child if I die?

This is one of the questions that keeps parents awake — when it’s not one of the other million things running through our minds.

Who makes decisions for your minor child if you die? Well, like most legal answers: it depends.

For example, if you only have a will, then you might only name a guardian. That person will be responsible for taking care of your child on a day to day basis.

But what about access to the bank account in your child’s name? Or the life insurance policy that names your child as the beneficiary? Can the guardian access that money to care for your child?

The short answer is no. The longer answer is that a guardian would need to petition the court to get access to those funds to care for the child. Legally, any account in a child’s name is theirs when they turn 18 years old. It’s not accessible without a court order. Similarly, if a minor child is a named beneficiary of a life insurance policy, that money would go into an account that can’t be touched until they’re 18 — unless there’s a court order OR….

If you have a trust, then you would name both a guardian in your will AND a successor trustee to manage your money on behalf of your minor child. Your successor trustee (AKA financial agent) can be the same person as the person who takes care of your child on a day to day basis, but it doesn’t have to be. Some people like to have a “checks and balances” system where one person is responsible for the care and the other person is responsible for the money.

Similarly, if you have a trust, then you would name your trust as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy so your financial agent can access the money for your minor kids.

WHO do you name as the guardian or the financial agent/successor trustee?? It’s up to you! I generally suggest that you think about someone who shares your values or who you think would make good decisions. It can be a family member or a friend or anyone who you trust.

The really important thing is that you don’t have to decide all this before you talk to me! Every family is different and every decision requires certain care and considerations. Contact me for a complimentary consultation.