How to choose your child's legal guardian

Transcription:

One of the hardest things to think about as a parent is who would be the legal guardian for your child should you not be there. And, while you might know the legalities of it, you really have to think about who is going to raise your child the way you would want to raise them. Sometimes, that's not your family. Sometimes. it's a friend who knows your child and lives in a similar way to you. You do want to make sure that you're not going to leave them financially out so you won't be prepared so if you do leave your child with someone who isn't family, they're okay to take care of them but you really have to talk also to that person to say, "Listen, in the unlikely event that this happens, how would you raise my child and would you be okay doing it" because especially if it's not a family member, you want to make sure that you're not leaving them in alert when you're leaving them your loved ones.

Video Categories: ALL PARENTS, Financial Planning and Budgeting, Guardianship, Wills and Trusts

Author Jane Buckingham shares advice for parents on the most important factors to consider when choosing your child's legal guardian

Transcript

Expert Bio

Jane Buckingham

Author & Trend Forecaster

Jane Buckingham is the author of the best selling book series The Modern Girl’s Guide to Life, The Modern Girl’s Guide to Motherhood, The Modern Girl’s Guide to Sticky Situations and the The Modern Girl’s Guide to Raising Decent Daughters (Decentdaughters.com). Buckingham was the host of The Modern Girl’s Guide to Life on The Style Network and is a regular contributor to Good Morning America. She is the founder and CEO of Trendera, one of the countries foremost trend forecasting and consulting agencies, working for companies including Gap, Hilton, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Fox, Paramount, and many others. She is the proud mother of a decent 11-year-old son and decent nine-year-old daughter.