As parents, our foremost thoughts are how we can best protect our children and allow them to reach their highest potential. But one area that often goes neglected is protecting our children in the event of our disability or death. You can give your children a wonderful gift by planning for these contingencies with a few simple documents.

1) YOUR WILL: The foundation of your estate plan is your Will. When you have minor children, this document is critical. Your Will should contain a minor beneficiary trust that allows the person you designate beforehand to manage the trust so that your children are provided for financially in the event of your death. The trust can be customized to your objectives and serves to make sure that your children’s medical, educational and support needs are met in a manner similar to how you would provide for them as their parent. For example, perhaps you want to help provide for your children to attend college, but you also want your children to take some ownership in their own education by working and applying for scholarships. The trust can direct your trustee to take these factors into account when making distributions to help with your children’s college expenses. You can also control what age your child is before the trust is terminated and whether it should be disbursed over time, such as in two or three distributions at different ages, so that your children are in the best position to wisely handle the funds.

2) DESIGNATION OF GUARDIAN: This document allows you to name the persons you want to be the guardians for your children in the event of your disability or death. This is often the most difficult decision for parents to make because we all want our idea of the ideal parent to raise our children and no one seems quite right. Because of this, it is easy to put off designating a guardian. But making the best decision you can now is better than making none at all. You can always change the designation, but having none means the state decides who raises your children—not you.

3) FINANCIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY: This document, along with the medical power of attorney, prevents the court from having to intervene to appoint a guardian over you while you are incapacitated. Instead, you decide who will handle your finances when you cannot. The financial power of attorney, however, also protects your children because the agent you appoint will have the ability to not only handle your financial needs, but also provide for those dependent on you for support.

Taking care of these legal needs is essential to protect your children in the event of your death or disability. Allow your children the support they need to live out their dreams.