If you have minor children, the most important paragraph in your estate plan is the one that names a guardian. Everything else — the trust, the tax planning, the insurance — exists to support the people in that paragraph.
Key Points
Naming a guardian is the single decision most parents avoid — and the one that, if you do not make it, a court will make for you. We help you think through primary and successor guardians, distinguish the guardian of the person from the guardian of the estate (often different people), and put it in writing before a hospital or court ever has to.
A 25-year-old should not inherit a seven-figure life insurance payout outright. We build trusts that distribute in tranches (commonly 25/30/35 or by milestone), give the trustee discretion for health, education, maintenance, and support, and name a separate trust protector when family dynamics warrant a check on the trustee.
Retirement accounts, life insurance, and 529s pass by beneficiary designation, not by the will. The plan only works if the designations are consistent with the trust. We audit every account and update the designations as part of the engagement.
Frequently Asked
At the latest, when you have a child, buy a home, or accumulate retirement assets. Younger adults often delay because the cost of inaction feels invisible — but the cost of an unplanned death with minor children is enormous and entirely avoidable.
A court will appoint one. The court will consider relatives first, then close family friends, but the decision is made by a judge based on incomplete information, with input from anyone who shows up to be heard. Naming a guardian in your will (and in a separate guardian designation in some states) is the only way to keep the decision in your hands.
A common starting point is 10–12x the working parent's income, plus expected education costs, plus mortgage payoff, minus existing liquid assets. Term life insurance is dramatically cheaper than permanent and is appropriate for most families. Once amounts get large or estate tax exposure exists, an ILIT becomes worth discussing.
Next Step
Fixed-fee estate planning for clients in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio.
Drew Jacobs is licensed in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio. Nothing on this page constitutes legal advice or an offer to represent you in a jurisdiction in which we are not licensed.