It seems like yesterday that Patricia first became a parent, but we know it was more than 8 years ago due to the insistence of children to grow up. Third grade seemed impossibly far away when sleep deprivation was one of our toughest challenges adjusting to tiny baby.
The physical demands of the job were far more than was reasonable. And we know the demands of parenthood are always far more than is reasonable – which brings us to our point.
When parents consider who to name to be guardian of their kids in the unthinkable event that both parents pass away unexpectedly early in their kids’ lives, they may not initially think about the most ‘obvious’ requirement.
Specifically, the person needs to be able to parent the kids. Loving care is physically and emotionally exhausting from infancy through adulthood – and also is absolutely essential. The parents need to consider how the person they name would be able to provide care and assure care is provided when or if they cannot do it themselves.
When we wrote about Tom and Tina last week, we made a huge assumption. They knew and agreed that their friend, Connie, was perfect for the job if it were ever to be necessary.
That is rare. It is most often a very difficult decision. Our next few columns will follow how parents Liz and Ray, who have a baby, Sam, and Rose, a 4-year-old, decide about naming a guardian.
Designating a guardian for your children is an important part of being a parent. For advice, call our office at (815) 436-1996 for an estate planning appointment.
© 2014 Gruber Law Office, Ltd.