Summer Vacation Planning

We are approaching the Memorial Day weekend, which many consider to be the start of the summer travel season. If you are going to travel this summer and be apart from your children, you may want to consider signing a temporary guardian appointment, which would allow you to name someone to make personal and medical decisions for your children if you were unable to do so. My wife and I sign such a document whenever we leave our children for an extended period of time (thank God for grandparents, for no one else would take the kids for so long). Please consult your legal advisor if you are interested in obtaining this type of document.

Who Gets the Kids?

A very common reason for signing a Will is to utilize the document to name guardians for minor children. Many times parents have difficulty selecting a guardian to care for their children and because of that fact delay signing a Will.

There is no time like the present to have a Will in place. I offer two pieces of advice when people delay signing a Will because they do not know who to name as guardian for their children:

1. Treat the selection of your guardian like most political elections. You may not like the candidates on the ballot, but you have to select the best one. It is better that you select the guardian, rather than a court doing it for you.

2. Do not name a guardian in your Will, but rather plan on using an amendment to the Will or a separate document (which most states allow) to name your guardian when you are ready.