National Grandparents Day, observed on September 13, 2026, is a time to celebrate the important role grandparents play in their families.
For some families, that role goes far beyond weekend visits, holidays and babysitting.
A grandparent may be raising a grandchild full time. The child may live in the grandparent’s home, attend a nearby school and depend on the grandparent for food, clothing, transportation and everyday care. The grandparent may also be paying for activities, medical needs and other expenses.
But what happens if that grandparent dies?
Who takes care of the child tomorrow?
Can the child remain in the grandparent’s home?
Who can access money intended for the grandchild?
What happens to the grandparent’s property during probate?
And perhaps most importantly: Does the grandparent’s estate plan actually match the role he or she is playing in that child’s life?
For Illinois grandparents who are helping raise grandchildren, these are questions worth answering now – not during a family crisis.
At Estate & Probate Legal Group, we help families in Oak Brook and throughout DuPage, Cook, and Kane Counties understand how estate planning and probate can affect the people who depend on them most.
This is an important distinction.
A grandchild may live with Grandma every day, but that does not necessarily mean Grandma has the same legal authority as the child’s parent.
The child’s parents may still retain parental rights. There may be an existing guardianship, custody or other court arrangement. Every family’s circumstances are different.
That distinction becomes especially important when a grandparent dies.
If the grandparent has been providing most of the child’s day-to-day care without a formal legal arrangement, the family may suddenly face difficult questions about who has authority over the child and where the child should live.
An estate plan cannot simply erase a living parent’s legal rights. But grandparents raising grandchildren should discuss both their estate planning and the child’s legal caregiving arrangement with appropriate Illinois attorneys so everyone understands what would happen in an emergency.
Many people think of a will primarily as a document that says who receives their money and belongings.
For grandparents raising grandchildren, planning needs to go much deeper.
A comprehensive discussion may need to address:
The last question is particularly important.
Naming one person is not always enough. Good planning anticipates the possibility that the first choice may die, become incapacitated, move away or simply be unable to serve when the time comes.
When an Illinois resident dies without a valid will, he or she is said to have died intestate.
That does not mean the state simply takes everything.
Instead, Illinois intestacy law determines which heirs receive probate property based on family relationships.
And that can produce results very different from what a grandparent expected.
For example, a grandparent may think:
“My granddaughter lives with me, so of course she’ll get what she needs.”
Legally, it may not be that simple.
The grandchild’s inheritance rights depend on the family structure and applicable Illinois law. If the grandparent’s child – the grandchild’s parent – is still living, the grandchild may not inherit the share the grandparent assumed he or she would receive through intestacy.
This is one reason grandparents should not rely on assumptions about who will “naturally” inherit.
If providing for a grandchild is important to you, put an appropriate plan in place.
Leaving money directly to a young grandchild can create another problem.
Minor children generally cannot manage substantial inherited assets themselves. That means additional legal arrangements may be required to manage property for them.
Even when the child eventually becomes legally entitled to receive the property outright, that may not be what the grandparent intended.
Imagine leaving a significant inheritance to help a grandchild with:
Would you want all of that money handed over as soon as the law permits simply because the grandchild reached a particular age?
Maybe.
But many grandparents would prefer someone they trust to manage the inheritance and use it for the grandchild’s needs over time.
A properly structured trust can potentially provide much greater control over how and when inherited assets are used.
For a grandchild being raised by grandparents, the house may be much more than an estate asset.
It is home.
The child’s bedroom is there. The school bus may stop outside. Friends live nearby. The grandparent’s house may be the most stable environment the child has known.
Then the grandparent dies.
If the home is a probate asset, questions may arise about what happens to it during estate administration. The estate may have expenses and creditor claims. Other heirs may have inheritance rights. The house may ultimately need to be sold.
Even if a grandparent writes in a will that the grandchild should receive the house, that does not necessarily answer the practical question of how a minor child would own, maintain and pay expenses associated with it.
Grandparents raising grandchildren should therefore consider the house as part of a larger plan rather than simply saying, “I want my grandchild to have my home.”
A will does not control every asset.
Life insurance, retirement accounts and certain financial accounts may pass according to beneficiary designations rather than under the terms of a will.
Illinois homeowners may also use estate planning tools such as a Transfer on Death Instrument (TODI) in appropriate circumstances.
That makes coordination critical.
Suppose a grandparent’s will creates a carefully structured trust for a 10-year-old grandchild, but the grandparent’s largest financial account directly names the child as beneficiary.
The estate plan may not work the way the grandparent expected.
Estate planning should consider how each significant asset passes at death, not simply what the will says.
Family conversations are useful.
They are not a substitute for legal planning.
A grandparent may tell relatives:
“If anything happens to me, Aunt Susan will take care of him.”
But what legal authority does Susan have?
What if someone else disagrees?
What if Susan cannot serve?
What happens to the money needed to raise the child?
Where will the child live?
Who manages the inheritance?
Verbal understandings can fall apart quickly when grief, money, parental rights and family relationships collide.
The more important the arrangement is to your grandchild’s future, the less you should leave to an informal conversation.
Grandparents raising grandchildren often focus on the immediate question: Who takes over for me?
There should also be a second question:
What if that person can’t?
Estate plans should consider appropriate backups.
Depending on the plan, that may include a:
These names are not paperwork filler.
They are the people who may become essential when the person you expected to serve is unavailable.
Unfortunately, death can expose disagreements that were already present.
One relative may believe the grandchild should continue living in the home.
Another wants the house sold.
Someone believes the grandchild should receive most of the estate because Grandma raised her.
Another insists all of Grandma’s children should inherit equally.
Someone else says Grandma promised them certain property.
Without clear legal planning, these disagreements may become part of the probate process.
The probate court applies Illinois law and valid estate planning documents. It cannot simply reconstruct what everyone believes Grandma “probably wanted.”
Clear planning gives the family – and potentially the court – much better guidance.
This is an important point for grandparents who are primary caregivers.
When a grandparent raising a child dies, the family may simultaneously face:
A caregiving crisis: Who is legally and practically responsible for the child?
An estate crisis: Who controls the grandparent’s property, home and money?
Those issues can overlap, but they are not necessarily resolved through the same legal process.
Probate deals with administration of the deceased person’s estate. Questions involving parental rights, guardianship or custody may involve separate legal considerations and proceedings.
That is why planning for a grandchild requires more than simply adding the child’s name to a will.
National Grandparents Day is a good opportunity to ask:
If any of those answers is “I don’t know,” it may be time to review your plan.
Learn More: Grandparent’s Rights: Carol Burnett Became Guardian Of Her Grandson
The answer depends heavily on the child’s circumstances, including the rights and status of the child’s parents and any existing court orders. A grandparent’s wishes can be important, but a will does not automatically override a living parent’s legal rights. Grandparents acting as primary caregivers should obtain advice specific to their family situation.
Not necessarily. Illinois intestacy laws determine who inherits probate property when there is no valid will. Whether and how a grandchild inherits depends on the family structure and which relatives survive the grandparent.
Estate planning can provide for a grandchild, but directly leaving a house to a minor can create practical and legal complications. A grandparent should consider who would manage the property, pay its expenses and decide what happens to it while the child is young.
That may not always produce the result you want, particularly if the grandchild is a minor. Beneficiary designations should be coordinated with your broader estate plan. Ask an Illinois estate planning attorney how the designation would operate in your particular circumstances.
A properly structured trust may allow a grandparent to specify who manages inherited assets and establish how money may be used for the grandchild. Trusts can be especially useful when the grandchild is young or when the grandparent wants assets managed beyond the age when the beneficiary could otherwise receive them outright.
Grandparents Day celebrates everything grandparents give their families – love, wisdom, time, traditions and, increasingly, everyday care.
If you are also helping raise a grandchild, one of the most meaningful things you can give that child may be certainty about what happens when you are no longer there.
Do not assume your family will know what to do.
Do not assume your grandchild will automatically receive the assets you intended.
And do not rely solely on conversations about who will “take care of everything.”
Estate & Probate Legal Group helps Illinois families create plans designed to protect the people who depend on them and assists families when a loved one’s estate must go through probate.
We serve clients in Oak Brook and throughout DuPage, Cook, Kane, Kendall and Will Counties.
If you are a grandparent raising or substantially supporting a grandchild, September is a meaningful time to make sure your estate plan addresses the role you actually play in that child’s life.
Call Estate & Probate Legal Group at 630-864-5835 to discuss your Illinois estate planning and probate needs.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Guardianship, parental rights, inheritance and probate issues are highly fact-specific. An Illinois attorney can advise you regarding your particular circumstances.
