Parental Responsibilities – Three estate planning documents every parent should have.

Transcript

 Good afternoon everyone. Welcome to Pink Mic Legal Confessions. I'm Stephanie Garces Donat, and today we are covering what all of you wanna know about is parental responsibilities. At least some of the parents at least care about are new or soon to be parents. But I'm gonna cover today three estate planning tools that every parent should have in place. Now, welcoming new children into the world is an exciting time. And yes, there's a lot going on and it's one of the most beautiful moments in your life, right? But as we gather for the holidays and as we're coming to the year end here, I always wanna make sure to remind you of some of the legal documents you should really be having in place. And setting up a proper estate plan is really a gift that you can give your family. And so I always tell people do not delay on this. A lot of parents come to see me and say, yeah, my kid is like 10 now. I've been thinking about this for the last decade. Don't feel bad about that. So like I said, for those of you that don't know me my name is Stephanie Garces Donat. I'm the attorney and founding partner of Garces Law here in Palatine, and we are helping individuals and couples and new parents put their proper estate planning documents in order, and really securing their legacy. The holiday season is one of my personal favorite times, hence the sweater. I wore a little bit of a holiday sweater today because it's important for us to talk about some of the things that are really taboo. A lot of us get nervous to talk about these things with our family, but sometimes there's new family members that really change our world, and now you can't just think about yourself, right? Babies born this year and those expected to arrive in 2023 really brings so much additional responsibility to parents, especially when it comes to their future and protecting them. So today in Pink Mic Legal Confessions. I am hoping that my goal here and you can kind of journey with me, is to educate you on how to eliminate any fear and like, worry around this topic. And I really wanna address some of the questions that you have regarding some of the most essential documents any new parent should have. And keep in mind if you're a parent that doesn't have it, and you've had kids for quite some time, don't feel like you can't watch this. This is also for you. It's all for responsibilities of parents. So, I'm gonna talk about three estate planning tools every parent should have in place. So part of being a responsible parent and adult's having an emergency plan for your children. Now you're probably looking at me like, I don't have an emergency plan, or yeah, I think we have one, we've talked about it before. But forget what you think you know about that because a will may not seem a significant document to you and it's like, yeah, I'll get to that later. Cause it's typically what I hear from parents. A lot of people think you don't need a will if you don't have a lot of family property, assets, and wealth. But to be quite honest with you, estate planning isn't just for people with a lot of money, okay? It's for everybody. And I always say everyone, everyone should at least consider one basic will. Now, estate planning is the actual plan that protects your family, your assets, especially if you are no longer with them or something happens to you. A lot of it when we do estate planning is we tell clients it's really more a peace of mind document, right? It's a document that you hope you don't have to really worry about for quite some time, but it's certainly something that is just peace of mind while we do it. So today I'm gonna share those tips and tools for you that every parent should have. The first one that I'd like to dive into, it's going to be creating living documents. Now living documents are essentially, there's something called the Living will, which is a document that actually guides family members in case of an emergency. So this includes basic healthcare directives and instructions. And it's really specific to where you live and some of your wishes. And so it's kind of nice to have a living well because I do think that hospitals and family members now are more, getting more I should say, they're more popular and hospitals have always used them and known about them. But it's kind of nice to have that document cuz it basically explains, would you want death delaying procedures, what they call it, in the event that you have a terminal illness or something like that. So it gets kind of sad when we talk about those things. So I always tell my clients, we're gonna go, we're gonna go a little dark during this podcast. But keep in mind that some of the documents that you have, like powers of attorney for healthcare, this actually allows you to designate a family member to make your decisions for you, especially when you can't make them yourself. Now, keep in mind that you can also put these for your adult children. So a lot of times family members will forget about their 18 year old, 19 year old daughter or son. You can also designate someone for their, perhaps yourself or someone that you trust, to make their medical decisions if anything ever happened to them and they were to lose capacity. So, these documents are equally as important because when you think about estate planning, we think about everything. We look at it as a whole, like your new children, your older children. But in general, creating living documents is always really helpful for your family, especially as you have more children or maybe you're a new parent. The other thing that the will does which is super, super important, and probably the one that everyone can relate to is you can actually designate a guardian for your children in the event that something happens to you. Now you're probably thinking, oh yeah, well, my mom would do that. Okay, well, keep in mind that unless you put it into writing, there really isn't a designated guardian for your child. Now, this is assuming that both parents aren't living and they're still minors. So there's a whole topic about how to pick the right guardian, just so you know. That's in my YouTube channel and I have the previous podcast. If you follow me, you can watch that one. But picking a guardian is so important because it allows you to have some control and govern from the grave is what they usually call it. So you govern as to who would guardian your children, who would be the legal guardian to make their decisions, how you want them raised, how you wanna educate them. The whole nine. So it's really important for parents to rest assured when it comes to that and putting together an estate plan that includes a will, that has a guardian is the best way to do it. And it's a person of your choice. That's the best part. As much as you wanna say that we know who would do it, a lot of times people don't have anyone that would do it or perhaps someone that they trust. And if you have a scenario where you're like a blended family perhaps, you have someone that you would pick that maybe isn't necessarily the father of your children, the mother of your children, you can also do that. So many people think that just calling someone a godparent solves the problem, which I speak as a godparent myself, not necessarily the best plan, but there's still some state agencies that could get involved. Especially when you're legally trying to designate someone. You have to go through a legal guardianship proceeding through the courts when there isn't any guardian named for your children. And so if you're watching this, you should at least consider it for that because if you have children, having a will with guardians named is really a strong idea, especially if they're minors. So that's one of the things that I like to highlight. Keep in mind too that things may change over time. So a lot of times people will ask me if I had a guardian that was someone that we liked and trusted three years ago, can I now update it now that my kid is eight? Yes you can, right? You can always change your will as long as you're living. So a lot of people think that, oh, if I make it once and I pick a guardian, I can never pick anyone else again. And that's not necessarily true. You can always change it as long as you're well and alive. So just something to keep in mind. Another tip that is super important, and I think one that doesn't actually get as much, let's say, popularity as some of the other ones is setting up life insurance. Now, few people have the wealth to save all this money for their family over time, right? So a lot of times, you have to rely on insurance and it's never a bad idea to have life insurance because it's a great way to provide for your family in case there's unexpected costs that arise upon your death. Or perhaps there's some mortgages that need to get paid or there's needs that your children, your family has in the event you were to pass. Those are things that are very basic, and you should certainly include as part of your estate plan. We always encourage clients to have that and, anyone that is in the insurance business will tell you, yes, life insurance is one of those things that it's a necessary evil because you gotta pay it, but it does have benefits to it for you and your family. And so, there are some topics that we'll cover in future podcasts regarding that, but it's just something I wanted to keep on your radar. So make sure you keep in mind that we do have a podcast coming up that kind of talks a little bit about that. So we'll be with a special guest next time so we could talk about different options and what are some things that you should have in place for you and your family. Lastly, remember what our role is. Our role as an attorney is that, we've covered this a couple of times already, but I always keep reminding my clients that I'm here for them. I'm here for their families in the long term, not just through the planning process, but we try to do it long after. And so, when you lose somebody or you know someone that has, we're able to advise to the best of our ability. And keep in mind there's a lot of players. When someone passes away, it's not just the attorney. It could be that we have to reach out to the insurance agent. It could be that we have an estate plan already and we have to administer that plan or help with that. We do all those things. And so, I just wanna make sure everyone knows that we're just not just creating the documents. Sometimes you need to actually administer what's already there. So just so you know, that's part of our role and we are here to help with the consultations anytime that you're interested in something like that. Now, like I was telling you earlier before, really to help families protect their wealth, transfer their wealth and assets, we do always recommend putting together what's called a trust and a trust is so powerful, right? It has a little bit more power than the wills in many aspects, especially when it comes to real estate, especially when it comes to property or even assets that are over a certain amount. And so, a trust really will preserve your legacy and plan for unexpected situations for anyone at any age. Now, a trust may not be suitable for a certain person depending on their assets. So we always do try to go through the consultation to explain, okay, is this something that is needed? Maybe it's not. So, nonetheless, it's just something that I like to cover because every so often people will ask us the difference. Now, one of the things I always wanna know too, is that many times you may have looked on the web, you may have come from a different state, and perhaps you have your own documents already in place. Well, now one of the things we also offer is we review the documents for you. It's important for us to discuss this matter because making sure that your documents are compliant with the local laws in Illinois, if you're from Illinois or if you're from outta Illinois, is super important because depending on where you've passed away or someone has passed away, it really depends on some of the requirements of the state to make things valid and invalid. So we always wanna make sure that what you have complies with local state rules and that the IRS isn't going to be coming to do any sort of inquiry with regards to some of the assets that you have, which is why we also consult tax consultants when it comes to those sort of things. But there's a lot of ramifications that come from having a lot of things. So, we also make sure things are properly notarized. Getting documents notarized is actually required to some extent. So it is something that we always check. We also support your family and your loved ones during the emergency plans that you have or any sort of tragic incidents. And so we do kind of guide families in doing that. And we also guide with trying to pick or choose the right guardians, the right trustees, people that would be in charge or in your corner in the event something happens to you. One of the things too I wanted to mention is we talk a lot about what are your plans? So a lot of people will have a plan for burial versus cremation versus some other ceremony that they wanna do. Those are things that we go through together because there are documents you need to have in place and instructions left for your family in the event that you passed. And you may think, oh, let them figure it out. We always get that from clients. Let them figure it out. Keep in mind, to an extent your family is going to be grieving if something happens to you, right? So why would you let them figure it out? They're gonna be grieving. They can let alone bear the loss of a loved one. Now you've dumped more responsibility on them. So there is a way to avoid all that and leaving the proper instructions for them. Keep in mind too, pets are equally as important. We do put a lot of pets in estate plan documents. If you're wondering what happens to Max, your little dog or your cat or whatever, your bird, whatever you have, we do have a separate podcast where we talk about that. So those are things we also guide with because we make sure the people understand there's different things that we can include and everything that's customizable. So first, those of you that are just joining us, I just wanted to bring back the attention of what we're doing today. We are covering estate planning for new parents. Specifically, what are the three things that every person should have in their estate plan if you haven't created one already? And if you did create one, we also review them to make sure they're up to date. And there isn't anything that you should be adding to those documents or perhaps revising. But like I always say, my name is attorney Stephanie Garces Donat. I'm the founding partner of Garces Law Firm here in Palatine, and we help individuals, couples, and parents create their legacy plans and new parents secure their legacy, but also pick guardians. Make sure you have everything in order for your babies. You wanna make sure you have everything specified Now you might think, oh, I'll just get to it later. Don't be that person. Don't wait. Because we have plenty of people that wait and unfortunately it's a little too late. So we don't want that to be you. You can always check out our Facebook page or YouTube channel for past videos and podcasts if you missed any of them. But we cover a lot of different topics. Like I was telling you, we always welcome you to watch us on Tuesdays at one o'clock. Now, today was at two because we had a couple of things we had to move around, but usually, we're here at central time, one o'clock, and we share tips and guidance with parents and guardians. And you could always review our YouTube material just to make sure you didn't miss anything. And of course, you know we always are here to help you. If you have any questions, concerns, feel free to text or call us with any questions. And we do really appreciate when people do reach out or even if you send someone our way because there's a lot of people and misinformation out there. If you go down the legal web, a lot of people think getting an estate plan online or through a TV ad is a good idea. And I wanna make sure you know, that's not a good idea which is why we come into play and we can really tackle some of the issues that you're facing or worried about sooner than later. Now I have a couple of questions that I've been asked during this topic, and so I want to bring up some of the questions our audience members have. The first one we have is, We're expecting our first child. Can we go ahead and create the documents now? That is a excellent question. Thank you for asking that. Yes, you absolutely can start now. We do have plenty of individuals that are expecting and do come in to see us for estate planning, so you don't necessarily need to wait till the baby arrives for you to have an estate plan. If anything, you should probably create one before the baby arrives. And it's important because again, we can stipulate to a couple of things. We can make sure that we have everything in place when it comes to guardianship, when it comes to what happens if something happens during labor or shortly after, who gets what and who's in charge of what. That is super important for us to discuss with new parents, so you don't necessarily wanna wait because there's no reason to wait. So I always take the approach of it's better now than never. So just so you know. Another question that we get a lot is, What is the cost of a basic estate plan when it comes to like living documents and designated guardians? Well, when we usually do an estate plan, if we're doing a living will and a last will, which really incorporates the guardian and maybe a living will, it's about $500 maybe 600 total depending on what you need. Now, I always mention that everyone's situation is different, so if you require a trust and some other things, it could be a little bit higher and really just depends on your situation. So it's hard to quote each person just off the bat unless we do a formal consultation with them so that we can kind of explain some of the ins and outs of the estate planning so that they understand what the cost would be. But we always try to give transparent pricing and then no one is surprised by anything so that you know this is what I'm supposed to budget. Another question that we get a lot is what happens to children that don't have a designated guardian? Okay. This is such a good question and it pains me to say it because I feel bad having to address it this way. But of course that, if kids don't have a guardian, right? Let's say that, parents have passed. Perhaps there's no one else that wants to step up and care for the child and become a legal guardian. Usually, the state has to get involved, right? The state usually gets involved and has to become in charge of the child, which really would put them up in foster care. They're up for adoption, essentially. So that is really a scary thought for a lot of parents, and it's something to really drive your motive when it comes to putting something in place because we don't just say it to say, we really do see that a lot of people, unfortunately, don't have something in place and the kids really don't have a legal guardian to basically to raise them. So it's important for you to Think about that because what happens to kids without a guardian is never short of tragic but unfortunately a lot of kids do have that as a final resort because there is nothing in place. So yeah, that's a really great question and I'm happy that it was addressed. Now, another question that I got was if I have children with my ex-spouse, do we have to have separate documents from each marriage? This is such a great question and I always love when people ask me this question because I do think it's very hard to say a one size fits all. Now, every time that you have an ex or an ex-spouse, obviously they are a parent, right, of the child, assuming that they are, you certainly can have the ability to put together new documents or perhaps even fix the documents that you previously had or put something together for the new marriage. Because keep in mind it depends on the parental rights. So we're gonna assume for this question that your ex-spouse is the father or mother of your child. So if that's the case, well typically, you wanna make sure to know that the other parent has rights. Everyone agrees that when you have children, you have parental rights. Now, if something else happens with regards to this scenario where one of the parents has passed, you certainly wanna have your estate plan in order because at that point, your estate plan, the parent that's living that estate plan were to trump whatever else is out there. And so, typically the answer is you would wanna have your estate plan or even your will looked at when it comes to the guardianship and maybe even the full estate plan because a lot of times ex-spouses tends to be on our life insurance. They tend to be on our 401k beneficiary. We look at our retirement accounts, they're getting our things you should always really reassess. These are life events when you have an ex-spouse. You definitely wanna make sure you've reevaluated what you have. And I can't tell you how many times people come in here with their documents that they had from their previous marriage and almost everything is going to their ex-spouse, which you know, depending on the relationship you have may or may not be your wish. So I just wanna make sure we're clear about that. That's a really good question because I think it's a hard question. Okay. The other question that we get is how much does life insurance cost? Okay, great question. And actually, I'm not gonna answer this one just yet because you're gonna have to tune in next week when we cover this topic because life insurance is very dependent on a couple factors. They have to sometimes look at different things before they quote you. So I'm gonna leave it to the insurance agent to give you a whole big picture on that because again, I'm not one to quote that off the top of my head cuz I'm not in the business of selling insurance. But I know a couple people that are. So I think there'll be someone that's, you have to tune in to watch, to give you an update on that. The other question I get a lot is, can you meet with our family over Zoom or do we have to come in? Absolutely. We've met the whole family by Zoom. I do a lot of Zoom. We also do Google Meet, we also do all the other platforms out there. Microsoft teams. Whatever works, we make it work for you. I think nowadays, meeting your attorney in person isn't always that easy for a lot of folks. And a lot of times we have individuals that may not even be able to leave their home for health reasons or inconvenience. So yes, we absolutely can meet your family over Zoom and you could also come in if you'd like to come in, we make an appointment with you and it's the same consultation. So we do have different options when it comes to that. So that's kind of nice to know that. How much do you charge for a consultation? Typically we are doing our consultations for free, depending on the type of consultation we are doing. Some of them are, about $50 to a hundred dollars depending on what consultation will be. It just depends. You have to call in to double check and we'll let you know over the phone whether there's a fee or not. But it is important for us to note that if you do go with us most times we can kind of give you a transparent pricing and that way you know what to expect before your first meeting. Now, I wanna thank all the viewers that have always watched our video. I don't know if I have any other questions offhand. I don't see any, but gosh, is it important to talk about this because the amount of people I think that don't actually move forward with an estate plan is so many, and I think it's because people fear the unknown. People don't actually know all the time how to get started, and like I said, all you have to do is do a consultation and then we'll do the rest. It's a lot of things that you can procrastinate when it comes to estate planning. But you don't wanna keep this in the background forever because we don't wanna be forced to kind of say to you, Hey we can't necessarily help you if mom or dad have lost capacity or someone has passed and it's a lot harder to do certain things. So, feel free to always check in with us, and thank you always for your excellent questions. Keep in mind that everything is hectic, especially during the holidays. I think it's everyone's go, go. If anyone's been shopping the last couple of days, it's been crazy out there, but you always wanna make sure you don't put this stuff off because if there's anything that you could give your parents or excuse me, your, I should say, your family as a parent, as a new parent, you could always make sure to have an estate plan in place. At least it gives guidance and it gives protection to your family and everything that you've worked so hard for. So it's a really responsible action to take, and super proactive. So, I'd like you to join us here next week on Pink Mic Legal Confessions at one o'clock, where we're going to be covering a new episode regarding life insurance and what are the things you should know about that. So please share our recordings with any of your friends or family, and we always are very thankful that you watch us and keep us in mind as we give you information as much as possible. So please everyone, take care of yourself. Happy holidays. I hope you guys have a wonderful time with your family and please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. As always, stay well and take care.