[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/blog\/five-ways-to-protect-your-family-through-estate-planning\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/blog\/five-ways-to-protect-your-family-through-estate-planning\/","headline":"Five Ways to Protect Your Family Through Estate Planning","name":"Five Ways to Protect Your Family Through Estate Planning","description":"You and your spouse are established, full-time working individuals who decide to have a family. Life is […]","datePublished":"2021-08-27","dateModified":"2021-11-19","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/author\/nicholas-nanovic\/#Person","name":"R. Nicholas Nanovic","url":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/author\/nicholas-nanovic\/","identifier":51,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/R-Nicholas-Nanovic-headshot-150x150.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/R-Nicholas-Nanovic-headshot-150x150.jpg","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Gross McGinley, LLP","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/logopng-00436945-e1531508982151.png","url":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/logopng-00436945-e1531508982151.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/baby-1150109_640.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/baby-1150109_640.jpg","height":800,"width":800},"url":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/blog\/five-ways-to-protect-your-family-through-estate-planning\/","video":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UGOBOjhcOw8#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UGOBOjhcOw8","name":"How to Choose a Guardian","description":"It's considered morbid to think about dying before your children reach adulthood. No parent wants to miss out on watching their little ones grow up, let alone have to determine who is worthy to step in and raise them how they would. \n\nChoosing a Guardian as part of a Will can feel daunting, and it sometimes holds parents back from even creating important estate plan documents. \n\nAccredited Estate Planner\u00ae and Estates attorney R. Nicholas Nanovic shares insights on how to choose a Guardian. He addresses how the Court determines Guardianship and factors to consider when naming a Guardian. \n\nTo learn more about estate planning, please visit https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/services\/estates\/wills-trusts-poas\/","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/UGOBOjhcOw8\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/UGOBOjhcOw8\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/UGOBOjhcOw8\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/UGOBOjhcOw8\/sddefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2021-08-17T14:47:49+00:00","duration":"PT3M53S","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UGOBOjhcOw8","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCOYR3tHLYW5VxFjUoxeMQzA#Organization","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCOYR3tHLYW5VxFjUoxeMQzA","name":"Gross McGinley","description":"Gross McGinley, LLP offers a powerhouse legal team serving individuals & businesses in the Greater Lehigh Valley & Monroe County. Our team of attorneys offer a full range of legal services including banking, tax, business, & employment law, litigation, divorce & family law, intellectual property, insurance defense, medical malpractice defense, municipal law, real estate, estate planning, criminal defense, & sports law. Our services are provided by a team of dedicated people offering innovative solutions with professional service. Rooted in Lehigh Valley for nearly 50 years, we emphasize the importance of community leadership & support. \n\nThe content found in these resources is for informational reference use only & is not considered legal advice. Laws at all levels of government change frequently & the information found here may be or become outdated. It is recommended to consult your attorney for the most up-to-date information regarding current laws & legal matters.\n","logo":{"url":"https:\/\/yt3.ggpht.com\/dvCtFoacLzBb2fnN1EnRLyYMmzaIT8stgK3-UrJ2u9eYfkwRkLXEVf3dEh3ZLrU-3K_JLZUwCA=s800-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj","width":800,"height":800,"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UGOBOjhcOw8#VideoObject_publisher_logo_ImageObject"}},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UGOBOjhcOw8#VideoObject_potentialAction","target":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UGOBOjhcOw8&t={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"},"interactionStatistic":[[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UGOBOjhcOw8#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_WatchAction","interactionType":{"@type":"WatchAction"},"userInteractionCount":58}]]},"about":["Blog"],"wordCount":1089,"keywords":["Estate Administration","Estate Planning & Administration","Guardianship","POA\u2019s","Trusts","Wills","Wills & Estates"],"articleBody":"You and your spouse are established, full-time working individuals who decide to have a family. Life is busy, full, and now complete with a bundle of joy filling your home with diapers, toys and the latest baby gear. While it’s obvious what’s keeping you up at night is a tiny human looking for a 2:00 am feeding and diaper change, something else may be on your mind – your estate plan, or lack thereof. Do you have the legal documents in place to protect what matters most? Stop losing (extra) sleep at night – here are a five ways to protect your family through estate planning.1) Choose a legal GuardianIf you and your spouse tragically die before your child is 18 years old, the court will appoint a Guardian that the court deems to be in the best interest of your child. How will the court know what is in your child\u2019s best interest? The court will review several different factors. One of those factors will be the person that you nominate in your Will to be your child\u2019s Guardian.Having a hard time deciding who you would want to be your child\u2019s legal Guardian? Consider these tips:\u00a0To ensure your wishes are followed and your child is raised by someone of your choosing in your absence, update your Will to include a legal Guardian.2) Do not ignore the intestacy trapIn addition to naming a legal Guardian in your Will, a Will also determines how your assets are inherited. If you should die without a valid Will, this is known as dying intestate (\u201cwithout a Will\u201d). If you die intestate, Pennsylvania\u2019s intestacy laws will dictate how your assets are distributed upon your death. You may assume that your assets will automatically go to your spouse if you die without a Will. If your spouse is not a joint owner on your accounts, then you\u2019d be incorrect.According to Pennsylvania\u2019s intestacy laws, your assets would be divided between your spouse and your children. Any inheritance for a minor child would be managed in a custodial account for your child\u2019s benefit until the child reaches the age of 21, but those custodial accounts are subject to certain restrictions. Your surviving spouse would not be able to use those funds in custodial accounts for childcare services because childcare services are arguably for your spouse\u2019s benefit, not your child\u2019s benefit. Additionally, your surviving spouse would be unable to invest the funds in a 529 account, where the funds may be able to grow tax-free for future educational expenses.Ensure that your Will properly reflects who you want to inherit your assets so that Pennsylvania\u2019s laws don\u2019t make that decision for you.3) Utilize a trust for your childrenAs noted above, Pennsylvania law allows your child to use the assets inherited from you for any purpose as long as he or she is at least 21 years old. Are you comfortable with the idea of your child having access to a large inheritance at that age? Are you confident this will have no impact on their ability to establish a career path and become a productive member of society?Depending on the value of the inheritance, you may want to consider establishing a Trust for minor children. A Trust allows you to dictate how old your child must be before he or she can use funds beyond reasonable expenses such as tuition, books and educational supplies, medical costs, rent, groceries, and clothing. Appointing a Trustee to manage the funds for your child empowers that Trustee to manage the funds and make distributions for your child\u2019s benefit.A Trust can easily be incorporated into your family\u2019s estate planning to help ensure your child\u2019s financial future is secure.4) Update your beneficiariesWhen you established a retirement plan at work or an IRA through a financial institution, you would have been asked to complete beneficiary designation forms. Similarly, if you have any life insurance (whether through your employer or purchased through an insurance agent), you would have been asked to complete beneficiary designation forms. These designation forms determine who will inherit those specific assets, without any regard to the terms of your Will.Therefore, it is important that you also review and update your beneficiary designations after a birth of a child to ensure that your newborn is acknowledged in these beneficiary designation forms. You may consider naming your newborn directly as a beneficiary.However, if you decide that a Trust may be a better tool to manage your child\u2019s inheritance past the age of 21, then you\u2019ll want to ensure that the beneficiary designation forms identify the Trust rather than your child as the recipient of the assets after your death. You could simplify the process and simply name your Estate as the beneficiary so that your Will governs the distribution of everything, but this type of simplistic planning comes with traps in the form of unnecessary probate fees, attacks from creditors, and potentially higher taxes.To avoid unnecessary confusion and secure your retirement benefits and life insurance proceeds for your child and any Trust you\u2019ve created, be sure to name proper beneficiaries.5) Establish a Power of AttorneyA Power of Attorney is an essential document for anyone\u2019s estate plan. For a parent of a young child who is financially dependent on you, your Power of Attorney should address \u201cgifts\u201d that you would want to be made to your children if you cannot write the checks for their expenses. In this document, you should strongly consider giving your Agent the power to \u201cmake gifts\u201d and use your assets to provide for your family. Without such a specific power expressed in your Power of Attorney, your Agent is limited to using your assets for your own personal benefit.Have the peace of mind that your child\u2019s day-to-day financial needs are supported by someone you trust, and ensure that your Power of Attorney addresses your children\u2019s dependency on you.—Many new parents lack the energy to create or update their estate plans. It’s a process that takes time you feel you may not have. However, even focusing on these five elements with an experienced estate planning attorney will prepare your family for the worst, so that you can live your best moments right now.R. Nicholas Nanovic serves as Chair of Gross McGinley\u2019s Wills, Trusts and Estates Group, providing leadership in business and family estate planning and estate administration matters."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Resources","item":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Five Ways to Protect Your Family Through Estate Planning","item":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/blog\/five-ways-to-protect-your-family-through-estate-planning\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]