Who will look after your children when you die?
Life can be fragile and thinking about a future where you are not around to care for your minor children is incredibly difficult. However, failing to plan for that possibility can leave them and the people entrusted with their care vulnerable and unprepared. Ensuring that the relevant provisions are in place, such as legal guardianship, financial security, a well drafted Will, and clear instructions about their care will give you peace of mind so let’s explore these further.
A Will is essential
If you have young children, you need a Will. Neglecting to put a Will in place can result in undesirable outcomes. Creating a Will empowers you to shape the narrative. You can choose the guardian for your children in the event of your passing, ensuring that the person you trust most will care for them. You also decide who will be the executor of your Will. The role of executor is vital, especially if your children are young. Your executor is the person you trust to manage your children's inheritance until they reach the age specified in your will. You executor will also liaise with your children’s guardian to ensure that your children’s education, living expenses and all other incidentals are paid. It's important to chat with the people who you would like to appoint as your children’s guardian and executor to ensure that they are happy to undertake the role as no one likes surprises. It’s an opportunity for you to convey to them personally how you would like your children to be cared for, and how you would like your executor to invest your children’s inheritance so that their financial future is secure.
Secure their financial future
One thing every parent wants is to ensure that their children will be okay financially if they die, that there will be enough money for their education and living expenses so that they can have the best opportunities possible. It’s important to review your assets, inclusive of those that you own individually, business and trust assets, any superannuation that would be paid out at the time of your death together with life insurances that you may hold. Life insurance can be an important tool in looking after your children when you are no longer here, so it is important to review your life insurance on a periodic basis, to ascertain if it is sufficient to cover future expenses for your family if you were to die. If a review determines that you have insufficient life insurance, it is an ample opportunity to increase your life insurance to ensure that your children’s financial future is taken care of.
Letter of Wishes
A Letter of Wishes allows you to document all your important wishes to your children’s guardian. It allows you to provide guidance on how you would like your children raised and to stipulate things that are important to you in respect to your children’s care. There may be certain schools that you would like your children to attend, or activities that you would like them to partake in. Or perhaps you would like your children to spend specific weekends or holiday periods with particular family members or family friends. There may be particular traditions or rituals that you would like your children to partake in. These are all important wishes that provide invaluable information to your children’s guardian, so the more descriptive and comprehensive you can be with your wishes the better.
Document important contacts
It would be of great assistance to your children’s guardian if you also took the time to document important information about each of your children. This can include behaviours, and guidance on how you deal with each of their personalities, their individual likes and dislikes, their current activities and other things that are important to your children. Curating a list that encompasses details of who their current medical practitioner, dentist, orthodontist, child psychologist and other practitioner details, together with listings of important family and friends would be invaluable to your children’s guardian. It's all good and well to collate this important information however it is important that you let someone know where you have stored these important documents. Often this person is your executor or a close trusted family member or friend. By taking the time to put these relevant provisions in place you are providing your children with a gift and providing them with stability and protection in the face of life’s uncertainties.
Your children and those entrusted in the important roles of caring for your children will be grateful that you took the time to leave such an important, loving gift and you will be afforded the peace of mind knowing that all is in place.