My husband and I both have one sibling. We all get along, including our siblings but my husband wants his brother and his wife named as guardians for our kids and I would prefer to have my brother and his wife named as guardians. We know it's a long shot that something would happen to us, but we both feel pretty strongly about it. I love his brother and his wife but I don't have a lot of faith in their money management skills. They filed for bankruptcy last year and seem to be doing well now, but still. If I were to compromise and let his brother be named as guardian I assume it is legal to name my brother to keep track of the finances for the kids and manage their money, whatever we leave to them from our estate? Is that so under MA law? My brother is an accountant who never spends a dime he doesn't already have. Thanks.
Submitted by JenB on Wed, 08/10/2011 - 07:37
Guardian for surviving children
Yes, you can name one person as guardian, to care for the children, and another as conservator, to manage their assets. And, in many cases, it's a good idea. Let's face it, different people do different things well. Your brother-in-law may make a fantastic guardian of your kids if anything happens to you, even if he isn't that good at tracking and managing finances. So go with their strengths. As long as you think the two can work well together, your estate planning attorney can show you how to set up your estate documents to accomplish that goal.
However, I should point out that most estate planning experts recommend naming only one person in a couple as the actual guardian or conservator for children. The concern is that, if you name your brother-in-law AND sister-in-law as guardians and they take custody of your kids, what will happen if they divorce or if your brother-in-law dies? Other than that point, I think your plan is workable. Good luck.