Guardians - access to estate funds
How much of my estate can my guardians access for the upbringing of my children?
Unlimited access with no safe guards
It is common for guardians to be the executor and trustee of your estate. This leads to the risk that guardians have unlimited access to your estate for the purposes of the “education, maintenance and advancement in life” of the children. Generally, this is not a “real risk” as you have appointed these people as guardians, executors and trustees because they are highly trustworthy and you want them to have access to whatever they need to bring up the children.
However, the risk must be acknowledged, especially when money is involved.
Unlimited access with safe guards
The best safeguard, in my view, is to appoint:
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A guardian
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a different person to the role of executor / trustee who would make the decisions about what funds to make available to the guardian.
One caution: This can lead to disagreement between the trustee and the guardian, so it is important that this strategy be accompanied by Guardian Guidelines. Our Desires for my Children LawPack provides a 24/7 downloadable solution.
Our Will LawPack allows for this. Download our Will LawPacks 24/7.
Limited access
A dangerous safeguard in my view to provide in your Will that only a limited part of your estate (for example the income but not the capital) can be used for the “education, maintenance and advancement in life” of the children.
The danger is, what if this is not enough?