Selecting Guardians

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What are the important considerations for selecting guardians?

One of the most important things families need to address, regardless of the size of their estate, is the question of who should be given responsibility for raising minor children should Mom and Dad die prematurely; thus, deciding who to name as guardians for young children becomes critical.

The estate plan of a parent should provide for the contingencies of 1) the death or incapacity to make decisions by the surviving parent prior to the children reaching the age of financial maturity, or 2) the simultaneous death or incapacity of both parents. Most people would agree that the two primary concerns for the estate plan in such situations are to provide a suitable guardian to care for and raise the children and to administer the estate's assets in such a way as to provide for the children in the most prudent manner.

We recommend that you select as guardians, first of all, a couple who shares your spiritual values and who will raise the children using the same godly principles that have guided you. It's also important that they be in the same stage of life as you; a couple who has already raised their children (including your own parents) may not welcome the challenge of starting afresh to raise the children you may leave behind.

Another important consideration has to do with the location of the guardians that you choose. We recommend whenever possible that guardians be chosen who live nearby, so your death does not also mean that the children will have to be uprooted from their neighborhood, their church, their school friends, etc., and be moved to another city or another state. The trauma of losing mom and dad could be dramatically magnified should a cross-country relocation be required because of the selection of the guardian.

Obviously, the choice of a guardian for your children is a very critical and personal decision, deserving careful consideration. This choice of guardian, along with the children's trust, is paramount to a parent's complete estate plan.

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