Estate Planning Checklist For Single Parents

As a single parent, your life is very busy. You go to work every day while raising your children, participating in their extracurricular activities, and maintaining the home. Being a single parent is a huge responsibility, even for those who have a cooperative co-parent to help. When people are doing it all on their own, life is even busier and the responsibility is even more immense.

While drafting an estate plan may not be the first thing on your mind, it is especially important that you have a plan that will protect you and your children. Below, our Daytona Beach estate planning lawyer outlines what to include in yours.

A Will 

Your Last Will and Testament serves many purposes. When creating your will, you will name a personal representative within it. This individual will administer your estate after you pass away. Part of estate administration is distributing property to your beneficiaries according to the will. While these tasks are important, perhaps the most important aspect of a will for single parents is to name a guardian for their minor children. The guardian you choose will raise your children and support them if you pass away. If you do not name a guardian, the court may choose a guardian for you, and that person may not align with your wishes.

A Trust 

Trusts also have many useful purposes. A trust is a legal document that you transfer property to. Transferring property to a trust is known as funding it and requires you to retitle an asset from your name into the name of the trust. Any property held within a trust is not subject to probate. During your lifetime you can control the trust, and the property within it. You will also name a successor trustee who will take over management of the trust after you pass away. The successor trustee will then distribute the property according to the provisions of the trust upon your death.

A trust also stipulates how you want property to be distributed. For example, if your child is currently seven years old and you do not want them to obtain the property until they turn 18 years old, you can include this term in the trust.

Durable Power of Attorney 

As a single parent, you are likely the sole signatory on your mortgage, bank accounts, and other financial assets. If you become disabled or otherwise incapacitated, there may not be anyone with the authority to make your mortgage payments or pay your other bills. Naming someone as your power of attorney will give them this authority and allow them to take on these tasks if you cannot do them yourself.

Our Estate Planning Lawyer in Volusia County Can Draft Your Documents 

The above are all important estate planning tools, but they are only effective if they are executed properly. At Bundza & Rodriguez, our Volusia County estate planning lawyer can advise on the important documents to include in your plan and draft them properly so they are enforced if you and your family ever need them. Call us now at 386-252-5170 or chat with us online to request a consultation and to learn more about how we can help.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0736/0736.html