Providing for Your Minor Children: A Guide to Guardianship and Custody in Pennsylvania

As a parent, one of the most important decisions you can make is ensuring that your minor children are cared for in the event of your passing. This requires careful planning and consideration, particularly when it comes to guardianship and custody arrangements. In this article, we will explore two ways to address this issue in your last will and testament.

The First Approach: Addressing Guardianship in Your Last Will and Testament

If you are married with children, the first step is to address guardianship in your last will and testament. This ensures that if something were to happen to both you and your partner, the court would appoint a guardian to care for the child. The guardian is the person physically responsible for the child's well-being, including their daily needs and living arrangements.

In this scenario, it is essential to name a specific individual as the guardian in your will. This person should be someone who can provide a stable and loving environment for the child. You may also choose to name a custodian, who is responsible for managing the child's finances and assets. The custodian may be a different individual from the guardian or the same person.

The Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania law allows you to specify a custodian for your minor children up until age 25 in your will. This means that you can choose who will manage your child's assets and make financial decisions on their behalf. However, if you prefer to have the custodian named earlier, say at age 18, that is also an option.

It is worth noting that having a trust might be a good idea if you don't want your child to receive all of their inheritance at age 25. In this case, the guardian would be responsible for the child until they reach 18, and then the custodian would take over managing their finances.

The Second Approach: Standby Guardianship

In addition to addressing guardianship in your last will and testament, another way to ensure that your minor children are cared for is through a standby guardianship form. This form allows you to designate someone as the guardian of your child if you are traveling or unable to care for them.

If you are planning a trip or have a limited time away from home, you can complete a standby guardianship form. This form would give the designated individual temporary authority to make decisions regarding your child's care, including taking them to medical appointments or making arrangements for their daily needs.

The benefits of using a standby guardianship form include peace of mind knowing that someone is prepared to step in if needed and providing an alternative arrangement in case you are unable to care for your child. If you have further questions or concerns about guardianship and custody, it's always best to consult with an attorney who specializes in estate planning.

Contact Us for Free Initial Consultations

At [Your Law Firm], we understand the importance of ensuring that your minor children are cared for in the event of your passing. Our experienced attorneys can help you navigate the process of addressing guardianship and custody in your last will and testament or establishing a standby guardianship form. We offer free initial consultations to discuss your options and provide personalized advice.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to us at 717-655-2676 for more information on how we can assist you in providing for your minor children's future.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi there this is samantha from the law offices of samia the wolf and the next what if question i have for you is what if i have minor children how do i provide for them i have two answers for that the first is that you're going to address it in your last will and testament so if you're married for example and your partner is the parent of the child what the will is going to say is if something would happen to both of you who would you want to be the guardian of the child if it's something where you aren't married but there's still the surviving parent it would be if something happens to the surviving parent or if you are the last of you or the surviving parent to pass away who would be the guardian of the child a guardian is the person who physically is responsible for the child or for the children so that means where would they be living you know whose house are they going to be living at then in the world you can also name who the custodian is and the custodian would be who is in charge of the money so you can actually have that be someone different than who's physically responsible for the child i mean where's that child living you can have the custody and be someone different or you can have it be the same individual but again the custodian is who's in charge of the money where the guardian is is who is in charge of the actual physical child the well-being of that child so in the will you would name both a guardian and a custodian they could be the same people or different people and in pennsylvania we do have the utma that's uniform transfers to minor act which means that you're allowed to say that you want a custodian named for that child up until age 25 in pennsylvania in the will you can go all the way up to 25. you can stop at 18 if you want and you can pick any age between 18 and 25 but the limit is 25 in the will if you want it to be above that then you're gonna need to look at other ways to provide meaning a trust might be a good idea if you don't want them to receive it at age 25 the guardian would be physically responsible for the child until they reach 18. so that would be one way to handle it the second way and the second way isn't an ore it would be in addition i recommend pennsylvania has a standby guardianship form and what that says is that if you are traveling so if you and the other parent would be out of town and the underage children are staying with someone who is different than the person you're naming permanently in your will would be the guardian and the custodian you would do a standby guardianship form what that form would say is during the period that you're out of town this person has the ability to care for that child so if somebody would need uh to go to the emergency room then the person that is taking care of the child for the weekend could go and take that child to the emergency room and consent to treatment and again it could you just fill it out if you're going to be out of town or for a limited period of time so that that individual can have the ability to do what they need to be able to care for your child if you have further questions or concerns we do offer free initial consultations i'd be happy to talk to you about it more in depth you can reach us at 717-655-2676hi there this is samantha from the law offices of samia the wolf and the next what if question i have for you is what if i have minor children how do i provide for them i have two answers for that the first is that you're going to address it in your last will and testament so if you're married for example and your partner is the parent of the child what the will is going to say is if something would happen to both of you who would you want to be the guardian of the child if it's something where you aren't married but there's still the surviving parent it would be if something happens to the surviving parent or if you are the last of you or the surviving parent to pass away who would be the guardian of the child a guardian is the person who physically is responsible for the child or for the children so that means where would they be living you know whose house are they going to be living at then in the world you can also name who the custodian is and the custodian would be who is in charge of the money so you can actually have that be someone different than who's physically responsible for the child i mean where's that child living you can have the custody and be someone different or you can have it be the same individual but again the custodian is who's in charge of the money where the guardian is is who is in charge of the actual physical child the well-being of that child so in the will you would name both a guardian and a custodian they could be the same people or different people and in pennsylvania we do have the utma that's uniform transfers to minor act which means that you're allowed to say that you want a custodian named for that child up until age 25 in pennsylvania in the will you can go all the way up to 25. you can stop at 18 if you want and you can pick any age between 18 and 25 but the limit is 25 in the will if you want it to be above that then you're gonna need to look at other ways to provide meaning a trust might be a good idea if you don't want them to receive it at age 25 the guardian would be physically responsible for the child until they reach 18. so that would be one way to handle it the second way and the second way isn't an ore it would be in addition i recommend pennsylvania has a standby guardianship form and what that says is that if you are traveling so if you and the other parent would be out of town and the underage children are staying with someone who is different than the person you're naming permanently in your will would be the guardian and the custodian you would do a standby guardianship form what that form would say is during the period that you're out of town this person has the ability to care for that child so if somebody would need uh to go to the emergency room then the person that is taking care of the child for the weekend could go and take that child to the emergency room and consent to treatment and again it could you just fill it out if you're going to be out of town or for a limited period of time so that that individual can have the ability to do what they need to be able to care for your child if you have further questions or concerns we do offer free initial consultations i'd be happy to talk to you about it more in depth you can reach us at 717-655-2676\n"