Planning for Children

Naming a Guardian for Minor Children

A will is the only legal document that allows you to nominate a guardian for your minor children. While a court is not bound by your nomination, judges give it significant weight. Without one, the court appoints a guardian without any guidance from you.

Choosing a guardian is one of the most important decisions in your estate plan. Consider the following when making your choice:

• Age — Old enough to provide proper care, young enough to remain healthy until your children reach adulthood.
• Commitment — Make sure the person actually wants to take on this responsibility.
• Temperament — Will they mesh well with your children's personalities and energy?
• Values — Do they share the same religious, moral, and parenting values you would want instilled?
• Existing relationship — Is there already a bond of trust and comfort between them and your children?
• Location — Will your children need to change schools or communities?
• Other children — Does the guardian have enough time and resources for their own children and yours?
• Finances — Can they provide for your child if estate funds are limited?

You should also designate at least two backup guardians in case your first choice is unable or unwilling to serve. You may also designate different people as guardian of the person (who raises the children day-to-day) and guardian of the property (who manages their assets), creating a system of checks and balances that protects both the children and their inheritance.

Testamentary Trusts for Minor Children

If you leave money directly to a minor child, a court-appointed guardian of the property will manage it subject to court oversight until the child turns 18, at which point the child receives everything outright, regardless of financial maturity. A testamentary trust, created inside your will and funded at your death, avoids all of this. You name a trustee you trust, establish rules for how and when the money is used, and set the age or ages at which the child receives the funds.

Common structures include full distribution at age 25 or 30, staggered distributions at multiple ages, discretionary distributions for health, education, maintenance, and support at any age, and milestone-based distributions tied to completing college, purchasing a home, or starting a business.

A trust can also protect the inheritance from a child's future creditors or divorce, and can provide separately for a child with special needs or a particular talent that requires additional resources.

Planning for Both Parents' Deaths

Most couples assume the surviving spouse will handle everything if one of them dies. That may be true, but you must also plan for the possibility that both of you die at the same time or within a short period of each other. Your plan should address this contingency explicitly: who serves as guardian, who manages the trust, and who steps in if your first choices are unavailable. A comprehensive contingency plan ensures your children are never left without a designated caregiver.

529 Accounts and Educational Planning

A 529 college savings plan is one of the most tax-efficient ways to set aside money for a child's education. Contributions grow tax-free, withdrawals for qualified educational expenses are tax-free, and New York offers a state income tax deduction for contributions. Contributions are also treated as completed gifts for estate planning purposes, removing them from your taxable estate while you retain control of the account. I help clients coordinate 529 accounts with their broader estate plan to ensure both work together efficiently.

Planning for Children with Special Needs

If one of your children has a disability, standard estate planning can inadvertently disqualify them from Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, and other government benefits they depend on. Leaving assets directly to a child with special needs, even in a trust, can trigger a benefit suspension if the trust is not drafted correctly. A properly drafted Special Needs Trust holds assets for the benefit of the child without affecting their eligibility for public benefits. This is one area where the difference between correct and incorrect drafting can have lifelong financial consequences.