A standard will names who would raise your children if something happened to you. What it doesn’t do — what almost no standard estate plan does — is protect your children in the hours immediately after an emergency, before any court has appointed anyone to anything.
You and your spouse go out for the evening. Your children are home with a babysitter. You don’t come back.
The babysitter calls 911. Police arrive. Child Protective Services is contacted. Your children — frightened, confused, in their own home — are taken into state custody while authorities work to locate a relative or contact whoever is named in your will.
That process takes time. Days, sometimes. And it happens before any court has reviewed your estate plan, before any guardian has been officially appointed, before anyone has legal authority to step in and care for your children. Your carefully chosen guardian — your sister, your closest friend, whoever you named — has no legal standing to act until a court says so.
The Kids Protection Plan is a comprehensive legal and practical framework for parents of young children. It goes well beyond naming a guardian in a will. Here is what it actually includes:
We prepare a legal document designating “first responders” — trusted friends or family members who live within 20 minutes of your home — and granting them temporary custody of your children in an emergency. The babysitter is informed of the plan and knows to contact first responders immediately. When they arrive, they carry the signed document that establishes their legal authority to a police officer or Child Protective Services worker on the scene.
Authorizes the designated first responder — or the permanent guardian — to make medical decisions for your children if you are unable to do so. Without this document, medical providers cannot legally allow anyone other than a parent to authorize treatment for a minor. In a genuine emergency, that gap can matter.
The Kids Protection Plan names both immediate (first responder) guardians for the hours after an emergency and permanent guardians for the long term — with separate consideration for who you’d want raising your children versus who you’d want managing their finances.
An exhaustive document that provides whoever raises your children with everything they need to know — your children’s routines, medical history, allergies, doctors, schools, friends, values, religious preferences, and anything else a loving parent would want a guardian to understand. This is the part of the plan that most attorneys never think to include.
Legal authority for trusted adults to take immediate custody in an emergency — before any court involvement.
Authorizes designated adults to make medical decisions for your children when you cannot.
Separate consideration for who raises your children and who manages their financial inheritance.
An exhaustive guide for whoever raises your children — routines, medical history, values, and everything in between.
Holds assets for your children’s benefit with a trusted trustee managing distributions according to your instructions.
Ensures any assets outside the trust are directed into it at death, completing the plan.
The Kids Protection Plan is designed for parents of minor children — from newborns through teenagers — who want to make sure their children are protected in every scenario, not just the ones a standard will addresses.
It is particularly important for families where both parents work, families who rely on babysitters or other childcare, and any family where an emergency could leave children without an immediately available parent. In other words — most families in the West Valley.
Founder, The Estate Planning & Elder Law Firm
It addresses the long-term question of who raises your children. It does not give that person any legal authority to act in the hours immediately following an emergency — before a court has reviewed your will and appointed anyone. The Kids Protection Plan fills that gap with documents that work on the scene, in the moment.
The first responder framework is valuable for any family where children could be left without an immediately available parent in an emergency. Older children may be home alone, with friends, or at school when a crisis occurs. The plan addresses those scenarios as well.
Yes — and we encourage thinking carefully about both roles separately. The qualities you want in a first responder are different from the qualities you want in someone raising your children long-term. Proximity matters enormously for first responders. Values and parenting philosophy matter more for permanent guardians.
The Kids Protection Plan includes a revocable living trust that holds your assets for your children’s benefit with a trustee you select managing distributions according to your instructions. You can specify at what age children receive funds, under what circumstances, and what the trustee should consider — rather than having a court decide.
The plan should be reviewed whenever family circumstances change — a new child, a move, a change in the first responder’s availability, or a change in your relationship with the nominated guardian. The guardian information worksheet in particular should be kept current as your children grow and their needs change.
It is a specialized, comprehensive framework built for families with young children. It includes all the foundational estate planning documents — trust, will, powers of attorney — plus the first responder designation, the Medical Power of Attorney for minor children, and the guardian information worksheet that most attorneys never provide.
A first conversation is straightforward. We talk through your family’s specific situation, explain what the Kids Protection Plan includes, and make sure you have a complete picture of what happens to your children in an emergency. No obligation — just peace of mind.
