Secure Your Children’s Future With A Minor Kids Plan
Should the unthinkable happen, make sure you are prepared
No one likes to think about worst-case scenarios, but when you have children, you know you must be prepared for anything.
This includes the untimely death of yourself and any other people who are caregivers to your children.
If the unthinkable should happen, you want to make sure your children do not feel lost and abandoned for a second. You don’t want your children to end up in the care of strangers or someone you would not choose to protect your loved ones.
Hoover Rogers Law, LLP offers Minor Kids Plan services that create documents with the legal authority to make sure your children are taken care of the way you want.
Accidents come out of nowhere. If you are a parent or guardian to children, it is important that you have this document prepared right away.
What is in a Minor Kids Plan?
A Minor Kids Plan spells out what you want to happen in case you and any other parents and guardians are unable to take care of your children. These plans cover topics like:
- Short- and long-term legal guardians — The short-term guardian takes immediate custody of the child upon death until the long-term guardian can arrive.
- How you want your children raised — these often address religion, education, discipline, health care, etc.
- Inheritance protection and asset management
- Contingency plans — You need to create backup plans in case your original one cannot proceed due to an unforeseen reason.
Without a plan in place, your child will be placed with a guardian by a court. This person is usually a grandparent or other close relative. A third party, like a family friend, could petition the court for custody. Once children are around the age of 14, the court considers their choice in guardianship.
If no one comes forward to care for your children, they may end up in foster care. Relying on language in your will does not do enough to ensure the care you want for your children will be carried through.
Our law firm offers a range of minor kids planning services. To get you started, we have a page for clients to log on to and create a preliminary list of guardians for their children.
Texas and Oklahoma plans
Texas and Oklahoma have similar child protective laws, but there are significant and important technical differences. The estate planning attorneys at Hoover Rogers Law can help you understand how to structure your declaration of guardianship to communicate your exact wishes.
Among the differences in Texas and Oklahoma guardianship law: In Texas, you must name one legal guardian and two alternates on the state’s “Declaration of Appointment of Guardian for My Children in The Event of My Death or Incapacity” form. Oklahoma’s “Letters of Guardianship” form does not include a field to name alternative guardians.
Weak and strong plans
While you can declare your intentions for guardianship without the help of a lawyer, the document may be easier to challenge after your death.
A court can reject your chosen guardianship if the chosen person is “disqualified,” refuses to serve, or the role would not be in the child’s best interest.
A person can be disqualified as a guardian by the courts for many reasons. To be a guardian, a person cannot be:
- A minor
- Inexperienced, uneducated in the ways of properly caring for a child and their estate
- Declared unsuitable by the court
- Notorious for bad conduct
- Convicted of specific crimes, including sexual offenses, aggravated assault, injury to a child or elderly person, abandoning or endangering a child, terroristic threats, or continued violence against the child’s family, parent, or guardian
- Suing the family in a case that may affect the child’s welfare
- Found to have an active protective order against them
Our goal is to create a resilient plan that will stand up to challenges and ensure your child’s needs are protected.
Make sure your child doesn’t wind up in foster care
To make sure your children are cared for the way you want them to be, it is critical that you create a Minor Kids Plan as soon as possible.
Attorneys Ben Hoover and Grant Rogers have children of their own and understand the importance and nuance of naming a guardian should the very worst happen. We can help you draft a plan that addresses your concerns as well as scenarios you may not have considered.
Don’t leave your children’s futures up to chance. Contact Hoover Rogers Law, LLP to start estate planning right now.