This one is a bit more serious, but I believe it highlights an extremely important issue.
Do you have children? Assigning a Guardian via Estate planning documents is extremely important. In fact, I tell parents this part of their Estate Planning is where they should spend the most time and energy.
Estate Planning documents are documents that are a legal binding way of communicating your intentions if you are to pass away or become incapacitated. Through your Estate documents, you can communicate to the court who you want to be legally assigned to become the new guardian for your child/children in the event of an unfortunate situation.
If something unexpected were to happen, it is already an extremely stressful time. Assigning a Guardian can avoid many headaches, and costly court proceedings, for your surviving family. It can avoid fighting among family and friends and ensures your children end up where you intended.
Finally, if the individual(s) you wish your children to reside with live out of state, or outside of the country, these documents are that much more important as RI courts have limited authority to assign out of state guardians. This means a very large headache, with DCYF being involved, if your children are to end up residing with a relative outside of RI.
I’m extremely focused on helping parents understand the importance of Estate Planning; particularly if their children are minors.
If you need help in this area, I am always here. If you live outside of RI, I will get you to someone I trust to help you out.
Stay well.