Indianapolis estate planning attorneys offer representation and advice to anyone who wishes to plan ahead for the end of their life and for their legacy. If you do not consider what will happen to you, your assets, and your family if you get sick, hurt, or pass away, default laws will apply. These laws may not provide the desired outcomes or protect the people who you care about most. 
While everyone who is concerned about their autonomy, assets, and family should get help from Indianapolis estate planning attorneys, it may be especially important for single moms and dads to get legal help.
The need for a comprehensive estate plan does not end when your child reaches adulthood, either. Frank & Kraft can help you to understand the special estate planning issues that you could face as a single parent and can help you to make effective use of legal tools to overcome those issues. Give us a call today to find out more about why it is so important to make a comprehensive estate plan if you’re a single parent.
Why Single Parents of Young Children Need an Estate Plan
If you are a single parent with a child who is depending upon you, you need to make a plan to ensure that your child is physically and financially cared for if something happens to you before the child becomes an adult.
If there is no other parent involved in raising the child, then if something happens to you, a decision must be made on who should take custody of the child. Either you can make this decision and create an estate plan that clearly provides instructions for who should become your child’s guardian, or you could leave this decision up to the courts. If you haven’t made a plan and something happens, do you really want a judge who doesn’t know your child deciding who would be the best person to raise your son or daughter?
You also need to think carefully about how best to provide for your child financially if you cannot care for the child. You may need life insurance or may need to make smart and strategic investment decisions to ensure that you have the funds to provide for your son or daughter. If you don’t want the child to just receive a large sum of money at age 18 with no guidance, conditions, or limitations, you should also talk with an experienced attorney about how you can use tools like trusts when leaving your child an inheritance.
Why Single Parents of Older Children Need an Estate Plan
If your child is an adult, you have different legal issues to consider when you make an estate plan as a single parent. You may not want your child to be put into a position to make difficult medical choices for you, and you want to ensure that your child is able to inherit the maximum value of your assets. This means you’ll need to make the right plans so your child doesn’t lose any part of his or her inheritance and so your child is not forced to make life-and-death decisions.
When something happens to you and you cannot communicate your preferences for medical care, someone must decide whether to consent to care, like a feeding tube or ventilator. That person could very well end up being your child if you have not made advanced directives for healthcare expressing your preferences on care and naming a healthcare proxy. You may not want to put your son or daughter in this difficult position so you should work with an attorney to make a detailed plan.
An experienced attorney can also help protect a child’s inheritance. If you have a larger estate and you leave money to your child, this could also trigger estate tax if you haven’t made plans to avoid it. Our legal team can help you to determine if your estate will owe taxes and can help you to find ways to minimize the amount that must be paid to the IRS out of funds that should be part of your child’s inheritance.
Getting Help from Indianapolis Estate Planning Attorneys
Indianapolis estate planning attorneys at Frank & Kraft can provide the help that single parents need throughout their lifetime. Whether you are the single parent of a young child or you have adult children who you want to spare from making tough choices, we can work with you to create a comprehensive estate plan using the legal tools that you need to protect your kids.
To find out more about the estate planning process and what your plans should include, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at 317-684-1100 or contact us online to talk with a member of our legal team and get personalized help making your plan.
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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