Ocean County Estate Planning Blog

If you have appointed somebody to be the guardian of your children in the event you and your spouse die, you recognize that life can throw you a lot of curveballs and that you should be prepared for the worst. But what if your guardian candidate dies before you do or is otherwise unable to take on the task of guardianship? To address these eventualities, you should consider appointing someone to be a successor guardian in New Jersey in addition to your primary guardian.

A successor guardian is someone you choose to be the guardian of your children in the event that your primary guardian candidate is not available for the job. There are many reasons why a guardian candidate, even if that person was willing to be named as a guardian at first, will not be available to care for your children. In addition to perhaps dying before you or both of the parents of your children, a guardian may become disabled, change his or her mind, or become financially unable to care for another person.

If your child is one of New Jersey’s numerous special needs children, you may have heard about special needs trusts, but do not really know what they are or what they do. Basically, a special needs trust is one you establish for the benefit of your child so that money will always be there to pay for the care (s)he needs throughout his or her lifetime, even if (s)he outlives you.

By naming yourself as the trustee of your child’s special needs trust, you maintain complete control over all the assets you place into it, just as you do now. The difference is that the trust now owns those assets instead of you and/or your child. In this way, since (s)he in no way owns the trust assets himself or herself, (s)he remains eligible for both state and federal funding and other benefits, not only those (s)he receives now, but also those that may become available in the future.

If you have a loved one who is unable to take care of themselves, you could be dealing with a lot of uncertainty and you may be worried about which avenue is best. Our law office thoroughly understands how challenging life can be for people in this position and those they love as well. It is important for you to thoroughly go over all of your loved one's options and help them as much as you can. Sometimes, guardianship is an ideal way to ensure that your loved one receives the care that they deserve. However, this is a major decision and it may be helpful to talk about various options with your family.

Whether your adult child, sibling, parent or spouse has found themselves in this position, you should approach the guardianship process carefully. Finding the right guardian is extremely important and this can be a difficult decision. Whether you have a number of potential guardians in mind or you are unsure if one person is capable of handling the requirements that they will be taking on, the decisions that you make in this regard will have a significant impact on your loved one's life.

There are many factors to consider with respect to guardianship, whether guardianship is set up for an adult who cannot care for themselves or a child who is in need of a guardian. Guardians can be authorized to manage many facets of a person's life, such as their finances and legal matters. Moreover, a guardian can also be authorized to make health care decisions on behalf of the ward, and this can be especially important for some people with significant medical needs. Someone who has been appointed guardianship of a minor has an important responsibility and they should carefully handle all relevant issues while understanding their obligations.

When it comes to a child's medical needs, guardians play an important role in the child's life. The decisions they make can have a significant impact on the child in terms of their physical health and psychologically as well. Whether you are looking into appointing a guardian for a child that has not reached adulthood, you have been assigned this responsibility or you are worried that a guardian is not living up to his or her responsibilities in this regard, it is critical to understand which options may be on the table when it comes to the guardianship of a minor.