Your children could be placed into Child Protective Services (CPS) and the care of strangers, even if you have a will or a living trust in place, while your legal documents are located or your family is identified. Or worse, your kids could be left in the care of the one person in your family you would never want raising them
A Judge who doesn’t know you, or your family, will decide who will raise your kids, even if it’s the last person you would ever want
Valuable assets could be lost due to probate, a court process that can tie up your assets for months or years and deprive your kids of the resources they need to live comfortably
When your kids turn 18, they get a check for whatever assets are left – outright with no protection
There are unscrupulous people who make it their business to review public records to find out what 18-year-olds are coming into money
Not all planners and online programs address these issues, and they may not plan from a parent’s perspective