Planning For Your Children
Having a Will Alone May Not Be Enough
If you are a parent of minor children who are counting on you, your estate plan must begin with ensuring your children would always be taken care of by the people you want, in the way you want, no matter what happens.
One of our areas of greatest expertise is in planning for the well-being and care of the children you love – all the way from newborn to age of majority, and all the way through adulthood if your child has a special need.
Avoid Costly Guardianship Mistakes Before It’s Too Late
Most parents assume their wishes for their children will be honored if the unthinkable happens. Unfortunately, that’s not always how it works.
Our free guide, “7 Mistakes Parents Make With Guardianship (and How to Avoid Them),” walks you through the most common — and preventable — errors parents make when naming guardians, including:
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Failing to legally nominate guardians
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Naming only one guardian with no backups
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Assuming godparents have legal authority
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Overlooking emergency guardians
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Skipping written instructions or medical powers of attorney
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Forgetting to update plans as life changes
Each section explains why these mistakes matter and what simple steps help protect your children from court involvement, unnecessary stress, or uncertainty.
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Without Proper Planning, Here’s What Could Happen
- Your children could be placed into the care of strangers while the authorities figure out what to do (yes, even if you have a will in place and even if you have a living trust). It’s true that this would likely only be temporary, but trust us: you never want your children in the arms of strangers, not even for a minute.
- Your children could be put into the custody and care of someone you would never want, like that one family member who has good intentions but who you would never want raising your kids.
- A judge who doesn’t know you or your family will decide who will raise your kids, even if it is the last person you would ever want.
- Your family could get into a long drawn-out custody fight or there could be a challenge to the guardians you have designated.
- Up to 5% of the value of your assets could be lost to court costs and other unnecessary fees through the probate process, a court process that can tie up your assets for years and deprive your kids of the resources they need to live comfortably.
- When your kids turn age 18, they get a check for whatever assets are left, no matter how immature they might be or what financial lessons they have not had a chance to learn yet.
- Unscrupulous people out there find out when 18-year olds are getting that inheritance check by searching the public court records.
- Unfortunately, the vast majority of estate planning attorneys do not address these issues and do not plan from a parent’s perspective.
Trish Butcher is an Athens native, wife, mom to Max, and founder of Arch Legacy Firm. A graduate of the University of Georgia and Emory University School of Law, Trish founded Arch Legacy in 2020 to make estate planning more personal, approachable, and meaningful for Georgia families.
Her own family’s experience with a difficult and costly probate inspired her passion for helping families protect what matters most and avoid unnecessary court involvement and conflict. Today, Trish leads the Arch Legacy team in helping families and business owners plan confidently for the future through estate planning, elder law, probate, and business succession.
Outside of the firm, Trish enjoys spending time with her husband, Andy, and Max, cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs, traveling, and being part of the Athens community she has always called home.