Estate Planning with Confidence and Clarity
Becky Schmidgall, Kinship Family Group Facilitator
This March we were grateful to welcome Iliana Ozuna, Esq from MyersStrickland Law to our monthly kinship dinner to present on estate planning.
Ms. Ozuna began by explaining the importance of estate planning to our families:
It protects your child(ren)’s future and stability
It allows you to choose a guardian
It controls how assets support your child(ren)
It avoids court involvement when possible
It provides emotional clarity during difficult times
She discussed the intricacies of the Arizona legal system and what happens to a caregiver’s estate if they have not implemented a written will and trust. Our caregivers found this discussion very helpful, as she compared it to a hypothetical scenario in which a will and trust had been established. One caregiver stated: “I had no idea that’s what would happen to my estate if I didn’t make plans- I’m going to schedule an appointment with [Ms. Ozuna] next week!”
Participants during Estate Planning Training
Ozuna spoke from a place of empowering families- not instilling fear. She acknowledged how complex the estate planning process can be, and encouraged families to begin thinking about practical questions as they start working with an attorney to create a written will and trust. Some of these questions are the following:
If something happens to me, who will raise this child?
Will they honor my adoption values?
For legal guardians (not adoptive parents), have I nominated a successor guardian in writing?
Who do I trust to manage my estate once I am gone? This person will be responsible for distributing trust assets until my child reaches the age of maturity.
Are my finances set up to support this child, long-term?
Are there special emotional, cultural, or medical needs to plan for?
If I am unable to make medical decisions for myself, who would I like to make those decisions on my behalf?
Seeds Community Center is so grateful for our continued partnership with MyersStrickland Law. For years, they have been a huge support of our work in the community and their practice shares similar values of supporting adoptive and foster families in Tucson. We are glad to be able to host local subject matter experts to speak about topics that are important and useful for our kinship caregivers. We look forward to continuing to equip our caregivers with information that empowers them to parent from a place of confidence.
