Reply to Do I really need to have a will in VA?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Who gets your kids? Who will take care of them and provide for them? Minors can't inherit money. You need a trust, and a trustee. Preferably not the same person who will be taking care of them. [/quote]

Our lawyer said it is better for the trustee and the caretaker to be the same person.  She said it was very unusual for them not to be the same person.[/quote]

I guess it depends on how much you trust that person. I agree. If I trust someone enough to raise my child, I also trust them to make responsible decisions about the money. It seems so messed up to imagine, say, my sister asking my brother in law for money pay for my son's braces or something like that. But maybe if you want the raising of your child to be a joint thing so that no one person has control it would make sense.

It does make sense to have a trust in the kid's name, instead of giving the money directly to the guardian, so that money never becomes part of their estate and is instead always reserved for your child (protected from getting sued or divorced or having a medical emergency).[/quote]

The person who is best at raising kids may not be the best at making investment decisions.  My lawyer advised they be different, also for reasons of accountability.  The guardian shouldn't have to go hat in hand begging for financial support either--the whole point of the trust is that the trustee has marching orders--pay for these necessary expenses; provide x amount as a monthly allowance for the guardian; whatever you want to set up.  If they fail to do that, they can be removed.  My lawyer has seen way too many cases of family members as guardians who put their hands in the till and enriched themselves at the expense of the beneficiary to advise anything other than careful decision-making on this front.[/quote]

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