Being a parent comes with its share of responsibilities, and when you are a single parent, those responsibilities are doubled. Whether it’s driving one child to a piano lesson or picking up the other from soccer practice, the days can be long. You might not have the time to even consider who would take care of your children in the unfortunate event of something happening to you. Estate planning is especially important for single parents because you would want to make sure that your children are properly taken care of and continue to be well taken care of after your passing. With a thoroughly drafted and personalized estate plan, you can make sure that the stress of a difficult time will be lessened. Here are just a few documents that are part of the estate plan we create for single parents.

A typical estate plan for a single parent would include the use of a Revocable Living Trust. Through the Trust, you can designate trusted individuals, known as Trustees, to manage your estate after your death for the benefit of your children. We can create specific “mini-trusts” for each child and make sure that they receive funds at specific ages or for specific events. This way, your child would not simply receive their inheritance right at the age of eighteen when they might not be as financially responsible. Instead, your trustee would be able to step into the role of a trusted advisor and help your child make those financial decisions over the years. Additionally, having the Trust in place can allow your trustee to continue paying expenses and make sure your children continue to live in your home.

Another important document to have would be a guardian nomination. By having this nomination, you can help avoid the Court stepping into family matters and helping decide who should be guardian of your children. This way, you can designate the individuals you can trust and know will care for your children the same way you would. If the other parent of your child is fit, of course, they would then be the responsible party moving forward. However, if the other parent of your child is not around or is not a safe choice, then having a guardian nomination becomes extremely important. Guardian nominations can take place in your Will or as a stand-alone document.

These are just some of the documents that will help you start planning for a proper estate plan for your family. We can also work with you to make sure that your life insurance policies, investment accounts and retirements accounts are all properly updated as well to better serve your family’s needs. Given our experience working with single parent families, we can make sure that you can rest easy and continue to make memories with your family. 818.956.9200

Glendale Location

616 E. Glenoaks Boulevard, Suite 203

Glendale, CA 91207

Sherman Oaks Location

15303 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 900

Sherman Oaks, CA 91403