Kids Protection Planning®
If you’re raising minor children, your estate plan needs to start with a Kids Protection Plan, one that guarantees your children will always be cared for by the people you choose, in the way you choose, no matter what happens.
Our Approach
Planning for the safety and care of the children you love is one of the things we do best.
Without the right plan in place, if the unthinkable ever happens to you, the unthinkable could happen to your children as well.
Even with a Will, your children could end up in the hands of child protective services, or placed with the very relative you’d never want raising them. A probate judge who has never met you or your kids would be the one deciding who brings them up.
On top of that, a court process can lock away the money meant to support your children for months or even years, leaving them without the resources they need to live comfortably. Then, the day they turn 18, they receive whatever is left in one lump sum, handed over with no protection and no adult to guide them.
Most estate planning attorneys never tackle these issues at all, because they aren’t planning through the eyes of a parent. This is exactly why we include a Kids Protection Plan® with every estate plan we build for families with young children.
A Kids Protection Plan is a complete package of instructions, legal documents, and an ID card for your wallet, so that whatever the moment, you have what you need on hand for the children at home who count on you. If you’re ever in an accident, your Kids Protection Plan makes sure your children are raised by the people you selected, not by someone a probate judge picks who knows nothing about you or your children.
We Help
- Single parents with minor children
- Couples with minor children
- Nuclear, blended, and every other kind of family
- Grandparents raising grandchildren
- LGBTQ families with minor children
- Parents of adopted children
- Anyone else responsible for the care or well-being of a minor child
What We Do
We help you build a personalized Kids Protection Plan drawing on any of the following, depending on what works best for you and your children. We’ve organized our services into flexible options, and every fee is flat-rate and agreed on up front, so there are no surprises.
- Nominations of Guardianship
- Temporary Guardianship Powers of Attorney
- Caregiver Instructions
- ID Card for your wallet
- Letters to Temporary Guardians regarding emergency access
- Letters to Long-Term Guardians on your family values and how to raise your children
You Don’t Want Your Children To End Up A Statistic
57%
According to NewYorkLife.com
of children who lose a parent are left without support. After a loss, the thing children need most is a steady, lasting support system.
5.3M
According to JudisHouse.org
children experience the early loss of a parent. That is one in every 14 children across the U.S., and yet this vital piece of estate planning is so often overlooked.
56%
According to #ChildGriefDay
of children would trade a year of their own life for just one more day with a parent they lost. Passing your legacy down thoughtfully is very nearly all your children truly want.
About Sheri L. Kelly
Hello, I’m Sheri L. Kelly, your neighborhood Personal Family Lawyer® attorney, and few things matter more to me than helping parents protect the children they love.
When you’re raising little ones, your plan has to do more than move money around. It has to make certain that, whatever happens, your children are surrounded by the people you trust and never left in the care of strangers. I’d be honored to help you put that protection in place, so you can rest easier knowing your family is covered no matter what.
Frequently Asked Questions About Kids Protection Planning
Doesn’t a last will accomplish what a Kids Protection Plan® does?
It does not, because a last will can only protect your children in a limited way. For one thing, a will does not take effect until after you die and the court has accepted the document, yet there may be moments well before your death when your children urgently need a guardian in place.
For another, naming the people who would eventually raise your children is a separate matter from arranging short-term guardians who can step in during a brief emergency. A Kids Protection Plan® leaves nothing to chance and no scenario unaddressed. You designate both short-term and long-term guardians, and you make certain that everyone you trust has the exact information they would need, right at their fingertips, to care for your children at a moment’s notice.
Do I need an attorney for this?
When it comes to protecting your children, the strongest results come from working with a lawyer who handles kids protection situations day in and day out. The reality is that some families come apart after a parent dies, either because no planning was ever done or because it was pieced together through an online service that understood nothing about the most thorough way to safeguard children.
We believe in building a lasting relationship between you and your estate planning attorney, so that you have a lawyer for life who can show up for your children when you no longer can.
How much does a Kids Protection Plan cost?
Cost is the question we hear most, and that is perfectly understandable. That is why every one of our fees is flat, so you always know exactly what you are agreeing to, with no surprises waiting for you.
We cannot give you a price online or over the phone, since a genuine quote depends on the details of your specific circumstances. What we can tell you is that our Life & Legacy Planning® process is designed to help you arrive at your own fee based on your family, your assets, and your wishes.
How is a Kids Protection Plan different from an estate plan?
Picture a Kids Protection Plan as one part, an especially important part, of your broader estate plan. And keep in mind that an estate plan is far more than a last will, even though many people assume otherwise.
If you are a parent of minor children, you need both pieces: the standard estate plan every adult should have, plus the Kids Protection Plan that every parent of young children needs.