Who should you pick as a guardian, just in case?

Parenting isn’t easy when you’re the parent never mind when you’re the guardian. My advice? Choose a guardian wisely.

On June 12th, 2019, my life changed forever. Grace Helena Melo was born and it was the greatest moment and accomplishment of my life. I was so blessed to be able to give Grace my mother’s name as her middle name. She would have loved this little girl. But that was not the end. Now I had to figure out how to parent. I believe great parenting is not found in any how-to-books. You learn as you go and you create your own style and repeat what works consistently. I’d say parenting is a very rewarding process and it is something that never ends, but could be over in a moment. To me, as a society we need to take advantage of the time that we have with our children; we need to suppress our distractions, put our phones down, and cuddle our children more!

But how do we prepare for when it all ends? Your child still needs to be cared for. Now someone else needs to take care of the decision making, the cuddling and the preparation for life’s greatest and toughest moments. This decision isn’t made on a whim, it shouldn’t be made by someone other than the parent, and it definitely should not be made by a stranger in the courtroom!

Choosing a guardian should take time and thoughtful consideration. It needs to be included in a proper estate plan. Thinking about the environment where your child would potentially grow up is overwhelming, but you need to do it. Some things you should take into consideration when appointing some one as a guardian include: who the person is, what types of responsibilities do they have, who are they married to, do they already have children, do you agree with their parenting style, etc….

Clients often only think about one person in particular. For example they may say, “Oh I think so-in-so would make a great mother for my child.” But tell me do you feel the same about their spouse? Their parenting style? It all has to make sense. This is not choosing the bridal party in your wedding. This is not about offending people or family ties. This is the single most important decision you could make for your little one’s future.

Once you have given the guardianship the appropriate thought and spoken with your estate planning attorney about your decision, the attorney will place a section in your will for the guardianship. This makes everyone aware of who your choice would be to take care of your children, in the unlikely event that you die while your children are still minors. It is also important to appoint a second person in the event that the first guardian is either unavailable or can not be your child’s guardian for some reason. (Another tough decision, I know. But this all has to be done.)

Although selecting a guardian sounds daunting to some, the sooner you do the work and become comfortable with the scenario, it will mean peace of mind for you and security for the ones that matter most.

Until next time…

Prepare a plan and start thinking about the future because tomorrow is never guaranteed

Joshua D. Melo, Esq.