A Father’s Day Message: Are Your Children Protected?

  • Estate Planning
A Father's Day Message: Are Your Children Protected?

Each Father’s Day children try to come up with a special gift for dad to show how much they love and appreciate everything he does for the family. Dads take care of their families: that’s what they do, and that’s what their young children depend on them to do. If you’re a dad, as I am, I have an important Father’s Day message for you:

Are your children protected? 

For most dads, the immediate response is Yes! You work hard to provide your family with a safe home, nurturing food and a happy childhood. But what about if you’re not there – what happens if you can no longer work? Are your children protected if the unthinkable happens and you are no longer able to protect them?

5 Actions Fathers Can Take Today To Protect Their Children’s Future

As you plan your children’s immediate care and future, don’t overlook creating a long-term plan to ensure the protection of your children.

1. Will or Trust
A will or trust provides dads with security and peace of mind, knowing their wishes and goals for his children’s future will be made known to their beneficiaries, family and legal representatives.

2.  Guardianship of Minor Children
Guardianship papers let the custodial parent choose who will take custody of any minor children, provide appropriate care manage their finances and inherited money or property. A guardianship gives someone the legal authority to care for and make decisions for their child.

3. Advance Medical Directives
What happens if you are unable to make your own healthcare decisions – do your children know what medical care you want? Advance medical directives are legal documents that inform your family and doctors how you want your medical and end-of-life care to be handled if you are unable to participate in your own healthcare decision-making.

4. Powers of Attorney
A POA authorizes someone to take legal actions for another person under specific circumstances. While many times a power of attorney is permanent, a limited power of attorney is designed to be temporary or for very specific situations and can be revoked when it is no longer needed. You can rescind both a permanent and a temporary power of attorney for any reason, provided you follow the legal process in your state and you are legally competent to manage your own affairs.

5. Life Insurance Planning 
In most cases, there is no probate court involved for your beneficiaries when they are paid proceeds from your life insurance policy.

Are You a Dad Who Needs a Long Term Plan?

A father’s most important job is to protect his family. We can help. This Father’s Day, protect your children’s future by contacting an experienced estate planning attorney at Estate & Probate Legal Group in Oak Brook, Illinois at 630-864-5835.

AREAS WE SERVE: Cook, Dupage, Kane, Lake and Will counties