Good Parents Care About Their Children's Future - Great Parents Plan for It
As a parent, you'd move mountains for your child. You'd sacrifice sleep, time, and resources without hesitation. Your love knows no bounds, and your commitment to their well-being is unwavering. But have you considered what would happen if the unthinkable occurred?
It's a thought that sends shivers down any parent's spine – the possibility of not being there to guide your children into adulthood. We all hope to see our kids grow, thrive, and build their own families. Yet life, unpredictable as it is, doesn't always follow our carefully laid plans.
Accidents, illnesses, and unforeseen circumstances can change everything in the blink of an eye. While it's difficult to contemplate, responsible parenting means preparing for every eventuality—even the ones that keep us up at night.
That's where North Carolina estate planning lawyer Jackie Bedard steps in. As a parent herself, Jackie intimately understands the weight of this responsibility and the peace of mind that comes with proper planning. Drawing from her extensive legal expertise and personal experience, she has crafted a solution that addresses parents' deepest concerns: the Children's Safeguard Plan.
How the Children's Safeguard Plan Works
Crossing your fingers and hoping that your children will never be left without parents is not the best way to protect them. Instead, establishing a sound plan in the event that your kids are left without you is the best way to protect yourself, your children, and the rest of your family.
The Children’s Safeguard Plan is a comprehensive outline of your wishes for your child, which is then tailored to your individual needs. The Children's Safeguard Plan should be a part of a North Carolina estate plan involving minors, and includes:
- Comprehensive care blueprint. A list of instructions on how you want your children to be raised, including who will care for them after you are gone, what schools you want them to attend, directions on what religion they are to follow, and how their inheritance is to be managed, among other things.
- Values preservation. The Plan will also include a special section that addresses you and your spouse's values, hopes, and dreams for your children and ways that the guardian can help instill those in your kids.
- Legal safeguards. Legal documents outlining who the child's guardians will be, what they will inherit at the time of your death, who is going to manage those assets, and rules and guidelines for when they are to receive the money.
- Emergency guardian designations. Nomination of emergency guardians to ensure that your children never wind up in the hands of Child Protective Services or foster care.
- Crisis preparation. Family emergency preparedness planning tools and emergency ID cards that include contact information for the child's emergency contacts.
Free Guide: Choosing Guardians for Minor Children
In addition to the Children’s Safeguard Plan, Carolina Family Estate Planning helps parents protect their minors in North Carolina by offering the Parents’ Peace of Mind Guide. This guide is offered free to parents in and around the Triangle area, and offers ways to learn the following:
- Important steps to take to ensure your children’s safety
- The most common mistakes that parents make when deciding who will be the guardian of their children
- How to go through the process of choosing the right person to care for your child
- Many other important factors that parents must consider when planning their kids’ lives in the event that the parent is no longer there.
