Readers of this legal blog are familiar with guardianships and conservatorships as we talk about them a lot. Indeed, in a recent blog post, we wrote about guardianships as they relate to adults. However, the more common use for guardianship is for children, which is the focus of this Abington, Pennsylvania, legal blog post.
They serve the same purpose for children
Just as a guardian over an adult family member takes over for you in the care and custody of your loved one, so too does the guardian for children. They step into the shoes of the parents and are responsible for their health, care, housing, etc.
Choosing the child’s guardian is much the same as an adult guardian
The selection process you use to choose a guardian for your adult relative and for your children are likely similar. You are looking for the capacity to care for the children and they want to be their guardian. If you are lucky, you will have a dearth of friends and family that fall into these categories.
Ultimately, you should select your primary guardian based on who you believe will be the best parent and set up a trust to ensure they are not financially burdened by their new responsibilities. You should also pick backup guardians to account for some changing their minds and life events that change circumstances and abilities.
Adding a guardian to your estate plan
If you have children under the age of 18, you need to add a guardian to your Abington, Pennsylvania, estate plan. You can do this my calling your estate planning attorney and re-crafting your estate plan to include the guardian and a trust to pay for your child’s care, should something untimely happen to you and your spouse.