Grace and Law

Relationships, at times, are both very simple and very complicated. Having a regular lunch date with the mother of your ex-boyfriend or sending college support to the daughter of your ex-husband or picking up the grandchild of a long deceased friend from ballet class, or coaching the football team of your nephew, because his father is deceased, these are all examples of relationships that are full of love, connection, and feel like family. Unfortunately, they are not relationships legally recognized by most states, and therefore if something happens to you, and if you do not have a will, they cannot inherit anything from you even if that is your utmost desire.

I mentioned in my last post, Choosing a Guardian Part 1, the difficulty caretakers face when thinking of planning for the future of their legal dependents, specifically who will care for them and what resources are available to them after death. These considerations often are further complicated when the children you are caring for, are not related to you by blood. These folks are not your biological relatives, but they depend on you and are what I will call your “Dependents by Grace.” Dependents by Grace include the people who you care for whether physically, financially, morally, educationally, or even socially, and are the same people you want to protect and provide for when you are no longer here. I am talking about perhaps your aging parents, disabled niece, former stepson or daughter, or any other person for whom you have taken responsibility whether you are related to them or not. Perhaps it is the son or daughter of the man you are no longer dating, or the child of a family friend who is deceased, or the grandchild of a member of your church whose parent relies on your support for their care. There are many variations of Dependents by Grace, but they all have the same theme, you want to make sure they are cared for properly if something were to happen to you.

The only way to ensure that you leave an inheritance to your Dependents by Grace, is to create an estate plan. Your Last Will and Testament, allows you to decide and legally declare how and to whom you will leave your wealth, that is your home, car, jewelry, money, keepsakes, heirlooms, and other resources.

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Seniors and Estate Planning

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Choosing a Guardian Part 1