Estate Planning with Children

One of the most important aspects of estate planning is creating a plan for children. Planning can be done for both minor and adult children. With careful planning, you can retain control over how your assets are used for your children. Clients are often surprised to hear how much control they can exercise over their assets after passing.

Estate planning with children should start early. Designating who would take care of your minor children if you are not able to, is an important first step in estate planning. An estate plan should also designate any priorities you have for your children. For example, do you want a portion of the assets set aside for education, a first car, or vacations? All these goals can be accomplished with an estate plan.

Estate planning can also be effective with adult children. Most clients do not want to maintain as rigorous control over their children’s inheritances once they are adults. Nonetheless, they may have some concerns about their children’s ability to handle a large influx of assets. One popular solution is to make several distributions over several years rather than one lump some distribution.

Planning can help protect your assets ensuring that they are used they way you want for your children. Legacies can begin early and have long-lasting effects.