With back-to-school on everyone’s mind, the protection of our children when we are not close by is on everyone’s mind. But did you know that 70% of parents have never taken any action to legally protect their minor children if anything happens to them? And of the 30% of whom have, most have made at least one of the following six common mistakes:
- Named a couple to act as guardians and you haven’t said what should happen if the couple broke up or one of the partners in the couple died.
- Only named one possible guardian without naming a backup.
- Have not considered financial resources when deciding who should raise your children.
- Only have a Will, which means the Court will publicly distribute your money.
- Did not exclude anyone who might challenge your guardian decisions or who you know you’d never want to care for your kids.
- Only named guardians for the long-term and did not make any arrangements for the short term if you were in an accident.
As a result, parents risk having their children being taken from their home, at least temporarily, if they are injured or die. Think about it; if your children are at home with a babysitter or at school and you are in an accident and can’t communicate, the police have no choice but to call in child protective services until they can figure out what to do. That can mean temporary foster care.
To help parents protect their children, attorney Matthew Karr has developed a series of educational programs ranging from a 20-minute, “just the facts presentation,” all the way up to a two-hour, hands-on workshop in which parents actually name legal guardians for their kids in the workshop and take the beginning steps toward ensuring their future safety. “Parents spend so much time agonizing over who they leave their kids with when they run to the store or go to work but they also have to think about how to ensure their kids are taken care of and never at the mercy of the foster care system if they are injured or die, ” he says.
As his way of giving back, attorney Karr offers these educational programs free of charge to schools and organizations throughout Middlesex and Essex Counties and makes a charitable gift back to each organization.
For more information or to schedule a seminar, please send us an email.
