You will choose who raises your children if you cannot.
If you are a parent, this is the most important planning decision you will ever make. A guardianship nomination in your will is the only legal way to choose who raises your children if something happens to you. Without it, a judge makes that decision — and the judge does not know your family.
If something happened to you tonight, who would take care of your children? Would that happen automatically? Or would your family be left waiting while a court sorted it out?
Most parents assume the answer is obvious — a spouse, a sibling, a close friend. But without a legal guardianship nomination, nothing is automatic. California law requires a court to appoint a guardian, and that process takes time, costs money, and may not reflect what you actually wanted.
A guardianship nomination changes that. It puts your answer in writing, gives it legal weight, and makes it the first thing a judge will look at if the question ever comes up.
This is the person who will raise your children — where they live, how they are cared for, what values guide their upbringing. This is the guardian most parents think of when they hear the word. You choose this person in your will, and your choice carries significant legal weight.
This is the person responsible for managing money or assets left to your minor children. In many estate plans, a trustee handles this role through a trust instead — keeping the assets protected and professionally managed until your children are adults. The two roles can be, and often should be, held by different people.
If you die without naming a guardian, here is what typically happens in California.
Even close relatives cannot simply take your children home without court authority. Someone must petition the court, which takes time — sometimes weeks — while your children may be in temporary care.
A judge reviews petitions from anyone who comes forward and decides who is most suitable. That person may not be who you would have chosen.
Without your written wishes, relatives may disagree — sometimes bitterly — about who should care for your children. The court process can amplify that conflict and damage family relationships.
While the court process unfolds, your children may be placed in temporary care that was never your intention. This can be disorienting and traumatic for young children.
Without a trust naming a trustee, any money left to your minor children will be controlled by a court-supervised guardianship of the estate — a formal, bureaucratic process that may not reflect your wishes for how that money is used.
A complete guardianship plan involves more than one document. Here is what we typically put in place.
Named inside your will, this is the formal legal designation of your chosen guardian — primary and alternate. In California, a judge is required to follow a parent's nomination unless it would be detrimental to the child. Your voice carries real legal weight here.
A standby guardianship nomination allows a named person to immediately care for your children in the short term — before a court can act. This is especially important if you are a single parent, if there is no surviving parent, or if you want someone to step in instantly in an emergency.
Your will names your guardian and also ensures that any assets not already inside your trust are captured and distributed according to your overall plan. A pour-over will is a critical safety net for your guardianship plan.
A revocable living trust allows you to hold and direct assets for your children's benefit until they reach whatever age you choose — 25, 30, or another milestone. Your trustee manages the money responsibly. Your children do not receive a lump sum at 18 unless that is what you decide.
Life insurance is often the primary financial resource for minor children if something happens to a parent. We help you make sure that your life insurance beneficiary designations direct proceeds into your trust — not outright to a minor child, which can create its own legal complications.
This is one of the hardest decisions parents face. Here are the questions we ask in every guardianship planning conversation.
Does your chosen guardian already have a meaningful relationship with your children? Do your children feel safe and comfortable with them?
Does this person share your values, your faith, and your approach to raising children? Would they raise your children the way you would want?
Have you actually asked them? Can they realistically add your children to their lives? Do they have the physical, emotional, and financial capacity to do so?
Where do they live? Would your children have to move? Change schools? Leave their community?
Who is your backup if your first choice cannot serve? You should always name an alternate — circumstances change.
California courts give significant weight to a parent's written guardianship nomination — but it is not absolute. A court can override your choice if appointing the nominated guardian would be "detrimental to the child." This is a high bar, but it is why choosing carefully and documenting your reasoning matters.
If you have a surviving co-parent, that parent typically has the right to custody unless a court finds they are unfit. Guardianship planning becomes especially important in situations where one parent has concerns about the other's ability to care for the children, or where custody arrangements are complex.
In blended families, the question of who cares for which children — and who controls which assets — can become complicated quickly without a plan. Stepparents do not have automatic legal rights to stepchildren. Clear documentation is essential.
If one of your children has a disability or a condition requiring ongoing support, standard guardianship planning is not enough. A Special Needs Trust must be part of the picture to protect their benefits and long-term care. We address this as part of every planning conversation involving a child with special needs.
Your children deserve a plan.
The only way to legally choose who raises your children is to put it in writing. We will help you do that — clearly, completely, and without the legal jargon.