Young families
Guardianship for the kids, life-stage trust for assets.
If you have kids under 18, the most important reason to plan isn't tax savings or probate avoidance — it's making sure someone you trust raises them and a thoughtful structure manages whatever you leave behind. Without planning, both decisions are made by a Florida court, often by a judge who never met your family.
Two documents do the heavy lifting: a trust that holds assets for your kids until they're old enough to receive them outright, and a designation of pre-need guardian that tells the court who you want raising them. Add a will (with the same guardianship designation as a backup) and the basic POAs, and you've covered the territory most parents lie awake worrying about.
We've drafted this exact plan hundreds of times. The conversation about "who would raise our kids" is harder than the paperwork — and we go gently through it.
What this means for you
- Without a will, you have no say in who raises your minor children — Florida courts pick the guardian using statutory factors that may not match your wishes.
- Without a trust, any inheritance (life insurance, retirement, savings) can pass directly to your child at 18 — not the age you'd choose for them to manage real money.
- Term life insurance is critical at this stage of life. We coordinate beneficiary designations so the proceeds flow into the trust, not to a court-controlled minor's guardianship.
- Guardianship and asset management can be different people. Often it should be — the right person to raise your kids may not be the right person to manage their inheritance.
- The plan should grow with your family. The trust we draft today should still work when your toddler is 25 and inheriting from you. We design with that horizon.
Recommended documents
Most situations route to one or two probate paths. Here are the most likely fits — read the detailed page on whichever feels closest, or use the consult to confirm.
What we watch for
Easy on people, tough on problems. These are the things that catch families off guard — we've seen them all and we plan around them.
- Naming guardians without telling them. The person you name should know they're named, agree to serve, and ideally know your wishes for how to raise the kids. Surprise nominations create complications.
- One guardian for everything. Make sure your guardian knows whether they're also the trustee. Often it's two different people — a sister to raise the kids, a financial-savvy friend or sibling to manage the money.
- Letting kids inherit at 18. Florida default — 18-year-olds get full control. Most parents want graduated distributions: some at 25, more at 30, the rest at 35. The trust handles this.
- Term life insurance with kids as beneficiaries. Triggers court-supervised guardianship of the proceeds. Naming the trust as beneficiary instead lets the trustee manage funds for the kids without court involvement.
- Forgetting to update. New babies, divorce, change of heart about a guardian — all triggers for review. We offer free reviews to former clients.
Questions families ask us
Planning for young kids is the work of an afternoon and the relief of a lifetime. The conversation is hard — "who would raise our kids" — but we've helped hundreds of families through it. Your kids are protected, your wishes are documented, and you sleep better. That's the whole point.