Where Will Your Children Go if You Were to Pass Away Tomorrow?

You’ve heard of a Date Night, that mythical and evasive phenomenon for parents, especially when our children are very young. Can someone else handle the baby when he starts to fuss? Will the kids be full of sugar and sleep deprived when you hurry home after dinner and a movie? Will the friends who offered to babysit still be your friends? There are lots of worries when we finally make Date Night happen.

But most of us haven’t really thought about the worst that could happen. What if the ones who aren’t okay are you? What if you’re in an accident and don’t make it home that night? Do you have a plan? If your babysitter calls the police worried about your safety, what will happen to the kids, to your family?

By law in Colorado, if an emergency responder can’t find you or knows you are not able to come home to your children, they can only leave your kids in the care of an adult blood relative. If the EMT, fire fighter, or police officer can’t find an adult blood relative to come stay with your sleeping angels within a short period of time, they have to contact Child Protective Services. When CPS wakes your children up at 4:00 am to take them to foster care, how will they feel?

You can avoid this situation altogether with a simple plan. Using legal guardianship documents you can name a number of individuals to act as temporary guardians of your children in case you have an emergency. The people you name don’t have to be blood relatives, but they can b. You can name your neighbors, friends, teachers, and anyone you know will do everything in their power to protect your kids and ease their pain. Who do your kids already know? Who are they comfortable with? Make sure they’re the ones who can step in if something happens to you. Call an estate planning attorney and make sure you have emergency guardianship documents just in case you’re the one who doesn’t come home.