Next in Line is a weekly newsletter for advisors, brought to you by Herbie, covering the practical yet consequential interaction between estate planning and family dynamics.
Sarah and Daniel thought they were near the end of our estate planning meeting when we finished discussing potential guardians for their two minor children.
If something happened to both of them, Sarah’s brother Mark would raise their two children. That part had been easy. Mark was local, steady, already a constant presence in their lives. The kids loved him. There wasn’t much debate.
“So we’re set?”
“Not yet,” I replied, “We haven’t discussed what happens after your kids turn 18.”
While Sarah and Daniel had long thought about who would raise their children if something happened to them, they had not ever considered what would happen after the guardianship ended, the day each child turns 18.
They were a bit confused by the question, so I made it simple:
If something happened to both of you, would you want your children handed a huge pot of money outright on their 18th birthday?
While a child’s frat parties and Spring Breaks would be well-funded, this probably would not be the best use of an inheritance…