Understanding What Happens to Your Minor Children If You Pass Away Before They Do: A Guide by Attorney Joseph Marra

Have you ever wondered what might happen to your minor children if you pass away before they do? In this video, attorney Joseph Marra will explain some very surprising facts about this very topic. So, please listen carefully as he shares his expertise and insights.

The general rule is that the other parent, whether they are married to the parent who died or not, is going to have custody of the kids. This applies even in the event of a divorce. Unless there were some issues involved with the divorced couple, such as abuse and visitation problems, the court will always prioritize the best interests of the child. However, if both parents pass away, that becomes a problem.

One way to take care of this situation is to have provisions for it in your will. When your will is admitted to probate, the judge's primary concern is what is in the best interest of the child. This does not guarantee that whoever you name as guardian will be the one who ends up taking care of the children. There are exceptions, however, such as if there is strong evidence to prove that the person you named as guardian is irresponsible and incompetent and unable to care for the child.

When naming guardians in your will, there are a couple of things you need to consider. Some people might say, "Oh, well, if something happens to me, my sister will be the guardian." And it's great that they have a good marriage, but this relates to their children. We need to think about whether their sister has a good relationship with the children and whether she can handle the responsibilities of caring for them.

For example, what if your sister stays home with the kids full-time? If she needs to go back to work due to divorce or other circumstances, will she be able to handle it? You might want to reconsider naming her as guardian in that case. It's also a good idea to have a backup plan in place. This could include co-guardians if they get divorced, or even having multiple guardians named in your will.

Before making any decisions about your estate plan, consider the potential consequences of passing away. You might not be able to put everything into place now, but it's better to address these issues while you still can. Attorney Joseph Marra recommends sending a checklist to clients before they meet with him, which helps them think through these important questions.

If you yourself or someone you know may have questions on this topic, don't hesitate to pick up the phone and call the law offices of Joseph Marra. They are professional, friendly, and great at looking at the pros and cons of your situation, coming up with a fantastic strategy, and giving you some options.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhave you ever wondered what might happen to your minor children if you pass away before they do well in this video attorney joseph marrow will explain some very surprising facts about this very topic so please listen general general rule is the uh the other parent both parents are the parents and natural guardians of the children even in the event of a divorce so unless there was some issues involving the divorced couple you know some issues of abuse and visitation has been cut off the general rule is the other parent whether they're married to the parent who died or not is going to have custody of the kids so that being the case what happens if both parents pass away well that becomes a problem doesn't it one way of taking care of that is to have provisions for that in your will something you put in your will when your will is admitted to probate the judge remember the judge's interest as it is in anything involving children is what is in the best interest of the child so does that guarantee that whoever you name his guardian is going to be the guardian no it's not a guarantee but chances are that's what's going to happen unless there's pretty strong evidence to prove to the contrary the person your name is irresponsible and incompetent and unable to care for the child but the judge is going to examine that um when you name guardians there's there's a couple of things you really have to think about some people come in and say oh well if something happens to me well my sister will be the guardian i say great is your sister married yes to this you have a good marriage none of my business but this relates to your kids did your sister have a good marriage oh yeah great marriage i really love my brother-in-law he's a great guy all right what happens if something happens to him what happens if he dies what happens if your sister and him get divorced do you still want your sister to be the guardian and if some people at that point scratch their head and say you know that's a good question i don't know because you know my sister now she stays home with the kids if she has to go back to work if they get divorced if he passes away will she be able to handle it at that point i don't know well then you might want to reconsider either you know naming your sister and your brother-in-law's co-guardians and if they get divorced then go on to the if one of them dies then have a backup you can do that but these are the type of things you have to consider and with everything you really need to name backups with everything in your will if you say i leave everything my kids but what happens when your kids dies before you you got to name backups i named my brother as my executive what happens if he passes away you have to name backups that's right one of the things i do and before people come in to see me is i send them a checklist and i kind of force them to think of all these things because i haven't thought of that well you're drafting the document you know you're 40 something you're 50 something you're 60 something you've never done a wool before it wouldn't make sense to get this all taken care of now and put it in the document since you hadn't addressed it before what are the chances you're going to come back and address it later probably not good let's address it now thank you so much joe for that important information and thank you audience for watching if you yourself or someone you know may have questions on this topic please don't hesitate to pick up the phone and call the law offices of joseph mara they are professional friendly and really great at looking at the pros and cons of your situation coming up with a fantastic strategy and giving you some options we look forward to hearing from you soonhave you ever wondered what might happen to your minor children if you pass away before they do well in this video attorney joseph marrow will explain some very surprising facts about this very topic so please listen general general rule is the uh the other parent both parents are the parents and natural guardians of the children even in the event of a divorce so unless there was some issues involving the divorced couple you know some issues of abuse and visitation has been cut off the general rule is the other parent whether they're married to the parent who died or not is going to have custody of the kids so that being the case what happens if both parents pass away well that becomes a problem doesn't it one way of taking care of that is to have provisions for that in your will something you put in your will when your will is admitted to probate the judge remember the judge's interest as it is in anything involving children is what is in the best interest of the child so does that guarantee that whoever you name his guardian is going to be the guardian no it's not a guarantee but chances are that's what's going to happen unless there's pretty strong evidence to prove to the contrary the person your name is irresponsible and incompetent and unable to care for the child but the judge is going to examine that um when you name guardians there's there's a couple of things you really have to think about some people come in and say oh well if something happens to me well my sister will be the guardian i say great is your sister married yes to this you have a good marriage none of my business but this relates to your kids did your sister have a good marriage oh yeah great marriage i really love my brother-in-law he's a great guy all right what happens if something happens to him what happens if he dies what happens if your sister and him get divorced do you still want your sister to be the guardian and if some people at that point scratch their head and say you know that's a good question i don't know because you know my sister now she stays home with the kids if she has to go back to work if they get divorced if he passes away will she be able to handle it at that point i don't know well then you might want to reconsider either you know naming your sister and your brother-in-law's co-guardians and if they get divorced then go on to the if one of them dies then have a backup you can do that but these are the type of things you have to consider and with everything you really need to name backups with everything in your will if you say i leave everything my kids but what happens when your kids dies before you you got to name backups i named my brother as my executive what happens if he passes away you have to name backups that's right one of the things i do and before people come in to see me is i send them a checklist and i kind of force them to think of all these things because i haven't thought of that well you're drafting the document you know you're 40 something you're 50 something you're 60 something you've never done a wool before it wouldn't make sense to get this all taken care of now and put it in the document since you hadn't addressed it before what are the chances you're going to come back and address it later probably not good let's address it now thank you so much joe for that important information and thank you audience for watching if you yourself or someone you know may have questions on this topic please don't hesitate to pick up the phone and call the law offices of joseph mara they are professional friendly and really great at looking at the pros and cons of your situation coming up with a fantastic strategy and giving you some options we look forward to hearing from you soon\n"