The process of naming a guardian for your children

While it is not the most exciting part of the estate planning process, nominating the people you want to be the guardian of your children obviously has a huge impact.  When parents pass away, the guardianship of minor children is established by a court.  The court either follows a statute which lists relatives who are entitled to be named guardians or, looks to your nomination.  If the court has considered people named in a statute, there is more potential for conflict over who is named a guardian.

Conversely, the nomination is important because unless there are specific facts that make the people you nominate unfit, the Court usually appoints the people who are nominated.  You “nominate” people by simply naming them in a Will or Trust.  In the process of addressing many other estate planning issues, people can cover the issue of guardianship.

In this post, I discuss the factors to consider in determining who your guardian(s) should be.