Leaving Property To Children - Estate planning
How to manage your child's property in your Will
Estate planning is very important even though many people are not quite ready to think about it. What will happen to your lovely children if any disastrous accident happens to you and your spouse? You can prepare your assets and properties to be delivered to your children in a legal way by using this estate planning.
It varies depending on the state, but generally minor children are not allowed to own property beyond a minimal amount which usually is between $2,500 and $5,000. Therefore when you are going to leave your property to your minor child, you will need to name an adult who will be legally responsible for managing your property until the child becomes an age of adult. This will apply to the child whether he or she is direct or alternate beneficiary. This named adult will become property manager, and you might want to name a successor property manager, if your first choice is not able to serve for some reasons.
Contrary to a personal guardian, your named property manager and secondary proper manager are normally binding and not subject to court review, because a property manager will only control monetary matters and properties and they have a right to leave as they want.
The property manager's duty involves managing property you leave for your children with honest and in the children's best interests. It can be paying for normal living expenses, as well as health care and educational needs for the children. Thus there should be a high trust involved in this relationship. If you pick someone with high integrity and trust value that you have, then your children's property will be in good hands while you are gone. In case there will be a substantial funds involved, the property manager can pay for help to take care of the matter in professional way which is totally legitimate. For instance, consulting accountant regarding complex tax related matters is one of many routines that can be seen with any property manager.
Who should you name as your minor children's property manager? Unless there are compelling reasons, people generally name the same person you choose as your children's personal guardian. You can still choose a different person if you are concerned about one's financial experience to do the job prudently. Similarly, for alternate property manager, name the same person you chose as the children's alternate personal guardian. That way you can utilize a trust relationship that you have already built over the past years.
Obviously, the property manager must be willing to do the job, which might, depending on the ages of your children, last for many years. It's also wise to choose someone the other members of your family respect and accept. You want your children to inherit money, not family arguments.
At the same time, your property manager should be willing to perform the job that could last for many years to come. Sometime it is hard for them to fulfill this commitment, depending on the ages of your children as they grow older, there will be more responsibilities that come along. Therefore it is wise to choose someone from your family members, close relatives. Your main goal and interest are that your children will inherit property and money safely, not unwanted family arguments.
Do not try to name a bank or any other financial institution unless it is the last resort. In most cases they will not manage accounts with small amount of assets as they consider it not worthwhile to put the time and energy on, which is usually less than $250,000. Also there would be a high cost involved in property management with financial institution.
If you are interested in writing your own will, you can use Free Will Forms but always be sure that you have the form signed. As any signed form is legally binding, ask lawyers or attorneys for any questions. For easy downloadable legal forms, go online and search for Free Legal Forms and you will find many important legal forms and documents such as Living Will, Power of Attorney and Estate Planning.