Estate Planning for Single Parents · Virginia

Who You Are

There's no backup in the next room.

For a two-parent family, the plan answers "what if neither of us can." For a single-parent family, the plan answers a different question entirely: who steps in immediately, completely, and legally — the moment you can't?

That requires more than a guardian nomination buried in a will. It requires a named short-term guardian who can pick the kids up from school the day something happens, before any court is involved. It requires explicit instructions for the people who will raise them. It requires money set aside in a way that supports the kids without enriching whoever is named to manage it.

It also requires honest conversations about the other parent — present or absent — and how the plan accounts for them.

What we focus on for you

Three things single parents need most.

A day-one guardian

The Kids Protection Plan^® names someone with legal authority to take custody immediately — no court order required. For a single parent, that's the single most important document in the plan.

A clear other-parent strategy

Whether the other parent is involved, estranged, or unknown, your plan should be explicit. We talk this through carefully, in private.

Money that supports the kids

A trust with the right trustee, the right distribution standard, and the right back-up trustee — so the inheritance does what you intend, even decades from now.

A father with two children, a colored birdhouse on the kitchen counter.

The plan typically includes

A plan that doesn't need you.

Single-parent plans lean heavily on the Kids Protection Plan® and beneficiary trust structures. We also pay special attention to short-term decision authority — the gap between "something happened" and "the legal guardian was appointed."

Building blocks

Revocable living trust
Pour-over will
Power of attorney
Healthcare directive & HIPAA
Kids Protection Plan^®
Short-term & long-term guardian nominations
Beneficiary trust for kids' inheritance
Trustee & back-up trustee selection
Life insurance ownership review
Other-parent considerations
Letter of instruction to guardians
3-year review · included

Single parents. You're the one.