(615) 846-6201

support@galsnashville.com

Davidson County Will Attorney: 5 Considerations When Choosing a Legal Guardian for Your Kids

by | Aug 18, 2021 | Estate Plan

Choosing a legal guardian who can raise your kids if you are unexpectedly incapacitated or pass away can be a daunting and difficult challenge.  There are many things to take into account such as parenting styles and the potential guardian’s ability to love and take care of your children. 

These are just some of the questions we believe every parent should answer before naming a guardian. 

  1. Where will your children live? Many parents desire to keep their children in a familiar environment if something unfortunate happens. It’s not unusual for parents to put instructions in their estate plans regarding the cities or states they want their kids to be raised in if mom or dad passes away. If the geographical location of where your kids will be placed is important to you, be sure to make this known to your Davidson County will attorney when creating your plan.
  2. Are your children familiar with the potential guardian? It is important that your children are comfortable with the guardian you are about to choose for them. If you are selecting a guardian that lives far away, you may want to consider ways to begin cultivating a relationship between your children and the potential guardian before it’s needed. Naming a temporary guardian is also important in such situations. This will ideally be a person that lives close by and can help ease the transition to your kids relocating to their permanent guardian’s home.
  3. Is your potential guardian prepared to care for your children? There are many factors that could fall under this category, but it is important to make sure that your guardian is emotionally, physically, and financially prepared to care for your child/ren. For example, you may want a grandparent to become guardian, but their age and their own financial and/or medical needs may make serving in this role difficult for them. Don’t forget to take their point of view into account when making your selection.
  1. Do any of your children need special care? If you have a child with a mental or physical disability, it could take special knowledge and resources to care for your child. It is important to make sure that the named guardian would not be overwhelmed by this responsibility and that they are prepared to care for your child in whatever way that your child may need.
  2. Have you discussed this choice with your potential guardian? It is very important that you ask your potential guardian if this is a responsibility that they can take on. You will also want to talk about your desired path for raising your child/ren to make sure that you are in agreement and that your wishes will be followed. 

As parents, you spend a lot of time planning the best future for your children. Make sure that your planning includes naming a legal guardian should you become unexpectedly incapacitated or pass away. You should be the one making that decision – not the courts. Schedule a call with our Davidson County will law firm today, so you can have the peace of mind knowing your children will be cared for by the person you want, in the way you want if anything happens to you. 

Heading to College? Get Your Shit Together

by | Aug 4, 2021 | Estate Plan

From a legal standpoint, moms and dads don’t have a lot of rights after you turn eighteen. But we often rely on our parents more than we realize, something I was jerked into remembering during my junior year of college when I was rushed to the emergency room and soon told that the surgical team was ready for me. Ummmm….can’t I call my mom first???!!!

Fortunately my situation worked out, but as a lawyer, I can’t help thinking about what if I had not been awake to call my parents. What if I needed more extreme medical treatment and couldn’t tell the doctors what I wanted?

This is where you can learn from my mistakes. Get your legal shit together before you head off to college. Or after. But as soon as you can. I will even help you get everything completed by video call.

As a bona fide adult, you need a minimum of three documents in case of an emergency:

Healthcare Power of Attorney– This document allows you to appoint someone you trust to be your health care agent if you ever become incapacitated and unable to speak for yourself.

Financial Power of Attorney– A financial power of attorney allows you to give someone else permission to access bank accounts and act financially on your behalf if an emergency occurs. That means paying bills, completing financial aid or loan applications, dealing with insurance companies, and other ways that, well, adulting sucks. You’ll need to choose whether you want this to become effective immediately or only when you are unable to handle your own business.

Signed HIPAA Form– Now that your parents don’t have access to your medical records, you might want to consider authorizing someone to see them. Often family is a good go-to for all things medical (see: hereditary conditions) but you can name anyone-and everyone- you’d like. Mom, Dad, Brother, Best Friend, Fifth Grade Teacher? If you love them enough to share your blood panel results, then a HIPAA waiver is no biggie.

If you wanna get fancy, you can also sign a FERPA waiver to let your trusted adult have access to your educational record. It’s the grown-up version of the school sending home your report card to show how smart you are. 🤓

These are your documents, so you can name any adult you want to act in case you can’t (or don’t want to). In most cases that’s a parent, but let’s be real. Not all parents are created equal. Sometimes your “trusted adult” is your aunt, your neighbor, or your cousin. Whoever you name, it should be someone you trust with your life and your 💵 bank account.

When you’re ready to start getting your adult shit together, feel free to book a call with us or shoot us a text. The cost for all of these documents together is $500 through our office, and I bet mom and/or dad would even be willing to foot the bill if you show them how responsible you’re being!