The adoption journey has many complex parts. Not only will you need to find and fall in love with a child to grow your family through adoption, you’ll need to prepare for a home study, have background checks, get medical advice, collaborate with the birth parent(s) on an adoption plan, and much more. Depending on your circumstances, you may have many months’ worth of tasks and decisions before you even think about setting up a nursery. Do you really need to add another step to your adoption journey? Should writing a will be part of the process?
There are some common myths about adoption and inheritance, but there are also some true statements. One is that you will want to ensure your new child’s future. This usually includes updating your will.
Here are some things to consider as you’re writing your will to reflect the new composition of your family.
Name a guardian
Choosing and naming a guardian in case of your untimely death is important for all your children. For adopted children, especially those who have gone through some uncertainty in their young lives already, it can be a means of providing much-needed security and certainty. Biological children may have obvious next-of-kin who can be called upon as guardians, but an adopted child might not.
Having family members go to court to fight for custody could be traumatic for a child who loses a parent. You can avoid this by making your wishes known in your will.
Appoint a trustee
Adoptive parents who could leave significant assets to a minor owe it to their child to appoint a trustee to manage the inheritance until the child is old enough to do so himself or herself. This can be the same person as the guardian, but it doesn’t have to be.
Different people have different strengths. The right people for these two jobs may be two different people. Writing a will makes the decisions simple when it comes time to carry out your wishes.
Avoid any ambiguity
If an earlier will names “my children” or lists previous family members but not the adopted child, there could be a sense of insecurity or even a chance of conflict. Naming the adopted child specifically does away with any uncertainty or ambiguity and makes your intentions clear.
Clarify an open adoption plan
An open adoption plan is not usually legally enforceable. Laying out the plan in your will makes it more likely that the child’s guardian will understand and follow through on the plan. Equally, if there have been changes over time, the will can provide an update outline for angling contact with the birth mom or family.
Heimer Law is a firm of adoption specialists. Since we also work with estate planning, we are in the perfect position to help with writing a will that includes your adopted child.
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