• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
  • Services
    • Asset & Business Planning
    • Dental Practice Law
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Financial Planning Assistance
    • Incapacity Planning
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Medicaid and Elder Law
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Emergency Medicaid & Nursing Home Planning
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Veteran’s Benefits
  • Resources
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law
      • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
      • Elder Law Reports
      • Elder Law Resources
        • Carmel, Indiana Elder Resources
        • Fishers Indiana Elder Law Resources
        • Greenfield, Indiana Elder Law Resources
        • Greenwood Elder Resources
        • Indianapolis Elder Law Resources
        • Lawrence Elder Law Resources
        • Plainfield Elder Resources
        • Zionsville Elder Law Resources
    • Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
        • Advanced Estate Planning
        • Basic Estate Planning
        • Estate Planning for Niches
        • Trust Administration
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Asset Protection Planning
        • Business Succession Planning
      • Elder Law
        • Medicaid
        • Medicaid Planning
        • Planning for Long-Term Care
      • Estate Planning
        • Avoiding Estate Taxes
        • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
        • LGBTQ Estate Planning
        • Women and the Need for Estate Planning
      • Financial Planning
      • Incapacity Planning
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • Pet Planning
      • Probate
      • Power of Attorney
      • Trusts
        • Trust Administration
        • Trust Administration
        • Serving as Executor
      • Wills
        • Contesting a Will
    • Newsletter
    • Pre Consultation Form
    • Probate and Trust Administration
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss Of A Loved One
      • Probate Resources
        • Carmel, Indiana Probate Resources
        • Greenfield Probate
        • Greenwood Probate
        • Indianapolis Probate
        • Plainfield Probate
        • Indiana Probate
        • Zionsville Probate
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Areas We Serve
    • Boone County
      • Lebanon
      • Zionsville
    • Hamilton County
      • Carmel
      • Fishers
    • Hancock County
      • Greenfield
    • Hendricks County
      • Brownsburg
      • Plainfield
    • Johnson County
      • Franklin, Indiana
      • Greenwood
    • Marion County
      • Central Indiana
      • Indianapolis
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Frank & Kraft, Attorneys at Law

Indianapolis Estate Planning Attorneys

CONNECT WITH US TODAY(317) 684-1100

Attend a Free Workshop
Home » Estate Planning for New Parents

Estate Planning for New Parents

July 23, 2010Estate Planning, Parents w/Young Children

If you’ve just had a baby, you know how busy and overwhelming life can be. Amid all the excitement and the adjustments you’re making, it’s important to take some time to think about your estate plan, and how you’d like to provide for your child in the event that you pass away.

Especially at this time in your life, planning for this unfortunate circumstance is the last thing you’re likely to want to think about; however, this is an essential part of protecting and providing for your family.

Here’s a few things you’ll want to consider when planning your estate:

  • Making sure your property goes where you want it to, when you want it to, and in the amount you want it to.
  • Making sure that you name a guardian to raise your child in the unlikely event that both you and the child’s other parent pass away while the child is still a minor.
  • Making sure that someone is in place to manage the children’s property and financial affairs until they’re old enough to do so themselves.

As part of a good estate plan, you’ll have a will or living trust that will allow you to name someone you know and trust to serve as guardian for your child. This person will be responsible for bringing up your child and making all the day-to-day care giving and educational decisions. This is important because, if you don’t appoint someone to take over this essential may, then someone will be selected by the probate court, and it may or may not be the person you would have selected.

The same is true for naming someone to take care of your child’s finances. In general, if only one parent passes away, then the other parent just continues to take care of bringing up the child, including handling any property or money on behalf of the child. However, if both parents pass away, a conservator will be named to handle money and property for the benefit of the child. You’ll want to name someone you trust instead of leaving it completely up to the legal system.

Minors don’t have the legal capacity to handle their own financial affairs, so, in order to avoid the need for a court-appointed conservator, you can establish a trust on behalf of your child. This allows you to name a trustee to oversee your child’s financial affairs, and it allows you to control when property is distributed to your child. Instead of handing over all of a child’s inheritance when they reach age 18 or 21, many parents choose to distribute funds in stages as their child matures into a young adult.

An estate planning attorney can help you put the documents in place that will ensure your child is cared for even if you’re no longer here.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Paul Kraft is Co-Founder and the senior Principal of Frank & Kraft, one of the leading law firms in Indiana in the area of estate planning as well as business and tax planning.

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.
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Latest posts by Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
  • How to Recognize Nursing Home Abuse - August 4, 2022
  • Do You Have the Right Type and Amount of Life Insurance? - August 2, 2022
  • The Problem with Relying on the Unlimited Marital Deduction - July 28, 2022

Other Articles You May Find Useful

Indianapolis estate planning attorney
The Problem with Relying on the Unlimited Marital Deduction
Estate Planning 101 for the Beginner
estate planning questions
Top 5 Estate Planning Questions Answered
Titling Property – Rights of Survivorship
What happens after death
5 Things You Might Not Know About What Happens After Your Death
Covid
Estate Planning Lessons the Covid Pandemic Has Taught Us

Primary Sidebar

Frank & Kraft, Attorneys at Law

Download our free Estate Planning Worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube

Blog Subscription

Where We Are

Frank & Kraft Attorneys at Law
135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Fax: (317) 684-6111

See Larger MapGet directions

Office Hours

Monday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Map

frankkraft_sidbr_map

Footer

  • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
  • About The American Academy
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
footer-logo

Frank & Kraft Attorneys at Law
Attorney Advertisement

© 2022 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.

© 2022 · American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Sitemap | Contact Us