As a parent, you have the natural instinct to protect and care for your children. From the minute you bring your baby home for the first time, your child becomes your priority and the center of your life. However, while it’s very common for people under the age of 35 to have children, 92% of American adults under 35 have never drafted a will.
We all get swept up in the fast pace of life, and raising children can keep parents extremely busy. But the truth is that a big part of loving and protecting family involves planning for events that might unfold differently than you’ve envisioned. You need an estate plan to protect your children to ensure that they will always be taken care of by the people you want, in the way you want, no matter what happens.
If the unthinkable happens to you and have haven’t done advance legal planning for the care of your children, here’s what could happen:
- Your children could be placed into the care of Child Protective Services (even if you have a will in place and even if you have a living trust) for a period of time or put into the custody of someone you know who you’d never want raising your kids
- A judge who doesn’t know you, your wishes, or your family, could decide who will raise your kids
- Your family members could get into a long, drawn out custody fight that emotionally distances key family members from each other
- The probate process could cost your estate up to 5% of the value of your assets and tie up your assets for years; depriving your kids of the resources they need to live comfortably
Even if you have a will, there can still be mistakes made in the plan for protecting your children. Many estate planning attorneys don’t address important potential issues or ensure that the plan is configured from the parents’ perspective.
What is a Child Protection Plan?
The Heritage Law Center specializes in making sure that your children are protected and that your wishes for their care become reality. Our Child Protection Plan is a set of instructions, legal documents, and even an ID card for your wallet.
If something happens to you, your Child Protection Plan ensures that the police have clear instructions from you so your children are not taken into the custody of Child Protective Services or the care of someone you wouldn’t want. And your children would be raised by the people you choose.
Contact The Heritage Law Center today at 617.299.6976 or mkarr@maheritagelawcenter.com to learn more about the Child Protection Plan.
