Establishing Guardianship

Write a will so that guardianship is a done deal. If it is a relative and you have a clear will it would take a great deal for anyone to prove she is unfit, etc.

I don't know what the criteria is for you and/or your husband becoming incapacitated. I would do some googling ad then consult an attorney to determine how to set up guardianship in the event that something other than death made it impossible for you to care for your child.

You can save yourself money by drawing up the papers yourself and having an attorney look them over before they are signed and notarized.

Also, while your sister might be a good mom, do consider whether she would be a good steward of the money. Sometimes you want to separate these duties if you know someone that will be responsible and see that the child always has what is needed.

I highly recommend spending the money to go to a lawyer if this is something that you have no background knowledge of. My husband and I just did this and there were so many more choices out there and things we did not think about (such as taxes if one of us passes away) and the lawyer was able to answer all of these questions and make everything very clear.

We just made up a will on a computer program designed to create one. WE outlined placement of our children and the insurance money, etc. We then went to the bank and had it notarized with a witness. We also made a copy for each person necessary and have it tucked in a fire box in our house. We never hired anyone, although I think that would be the best thing to do, but with it out in the open in our family now and laid out specifically, we should be okay.

The same lawyer that makes your will typically does this as part of the process. It is very important. What we did was put my brother and SIL as guardians and have any money setup to go into a trust fund to be managed by the bank. That's a good alternative if you have family members that aren't as fiscally as responsible as you might like. My brother would end up buying my son a Porsche. You can certainly buy software to do this stuff, but I felt like the 200-300 that we spent with the lawyer was time VERY well spent in understanding the ramifications of everything. For example, I wanted to leave everything to my mother should my children also not survive, but the lawyer said that wouldn't keep my father from getting the money (He is really irresponsible - my mother scrimps and saves and he spends it on toys) and it would create ill will (although, if I were dead, I don't think I would care :)

Also, our guardianship was written to include any future children, as well.