How does your children becoming adults change your estate planning needs?

If you already have some estate planning documents in place, here are a few ways your estate plans may change, once your children turn 18

1.   Guardianships

You may have previously appointed a guardian for your children, someone who would raise your children for you, in case anything happened to you.  Now that your children are adults, they will no longer need appointed guardians, and your estate plan should be updated to reflect that. 

2.   Children as Fiduciaries

With your children being adults now, it may be your wish to add them as an agent, or successor agent, as your power of attorney; as a trustee to a trust account; or as another fiduciary agent in your estate plan.  If this is something you are considering, you should consult your estate planning attorney and update your estate plan. 

3.   Life Changes

As your children get older, they may get married, have children, start a business, get divorced, remarry, etc.  As these life changes occur, you may want to update your estate plan to reflect those changes.  Perhaps you want to protect your children’s inheritance from a potential divorce situation because you don’t quite get along with your child’s spouse.  On the other hand, perhaps you want to include your child’s ex-spouse because you maintained a relationship with them even after a divorce.  Perhaps you want to help your child start a business as an investor.  Or perhaps you simply want to include your grandchildren in your estate plan.  As these life changes occur, you should consult your estate planning attorney and update your estate plan.