Estate Planning for Families
Plan for who would care for your children, who would manage their money, and how those people would work together. The documents should make those choices practical.
Consider a primary guardian and a backup, including their location, relationships and ability to take on the role. The nomination is important, but it does not replace the court's appointment decision.
A trustee has a different job: managing assets and making distributions under the trust. Separating that role from the guardian can be useful. The plan should explain how the child's needs will be funded and how decisions will be made.
A trust can hold assets for a child with a chosen trustee and distribution standards suited to the family's circumstances. Age, disability, public-benefit eligibility and the beneficiary's needs can affect the design.
For illustration only: parents might nominate a relative to raise their children and a different person to manage the inheritance. The planning questions are how expenses are paid, who can succeed each person and when the children take responsibility. That is an example, not a promised result.
Insurance needs should be assessed against household resources and expected costs, including housing, care and education. We coordinate the legal ownership and beneficiary arrangements with your financial or insurance advisor; an income multiplier does not replace that analysis.
Retirement and insurance beneficiary forms need their own review. For a 529 plan, check the account owner, successor-owner provisions, beneficiary and the plan's rules. A 529 is not governed in the same way as a life-insurance death-benefit designation.
Sources checked September 7, 2026: NY Courts: naming a guardian in a will. Guardianship rules vary by state; the linked source describes New York's process.
No. The court decides under the applicable law. A clear nomination and suitable backups help communicate your wishes.
That can work, but the roles require different skills. We discuss the people involved and the checks, responsibilities and succession provisions that fit the family.
A birth, marriage, divorce, move, significant asset change or a change in a named decision-maker is a useful reason to review the documents and beneficiary forms.
Begin with the complimentary fit-and-intake call with Jamee, or book a paid attorney strategy session with Drew.
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.