As a parent, you may have painstakingly considered many aspects of your children’s lives and futures. While you certainly hope to be there for them every step of the way, you likely also understood from your first child’s birth that a sudden accident could easily leave your kids without parents. This idea was certainly hard to imagine, but you felt it necessary to consider in order to plan for their futures.
This idea played an important role in your estate planning journey as you thoroughly considered who would act as the best person to care for your kids in the event that they were left parentless. Your choice of guardian may have graciously accepted the role, and for a time, you felt more at ease knowing you had a plan in place.
The interim period
Of course, you may have recently begun to have more concerns about your children’s care as it crossed your mind that your kids could potentially go to child protective services immediately after a fatal accident that claimed your life and your spouse’s life. After all, an interim period will exist between the time the accident occurs and when the transfer of guardianship takes place. Because you know your children will already face considerable trauma, you do not want them immediately put into the hands of strangers.
Micro estate planning
Because you are not the first parent to have this concern, some individuals have taken steps to plan for even that interim period. One author has coined the term “micro estate planning” to describe making plans down to the last detail in the event that fatal circumstances should befall parents. In particular, this type of planning involves creating documents that indicate who should care for children in the immediate aftermath of an accident.
This information could prove immensely useful to police officers who need to know who to contact or even the babysitter left at home with your kids. This short-term care from loved ones could help lessen the trauma that your children likely already face.
Creating documents
Because this type of estate planning is not well known, you may have many questions regarding its legality and your options. Fortunately, you can speak with an attorney who could provide insight in regard to ways you can express your wishes for your children’s short-term care after a fatal incident.
