What Do Parents of Children Ages 0–3 Need to Know?

Estate Planning for Parents of Children Ages 0–3: Why Starting Early Matters

by Whitney Knox Lee, Esq.

September 4, 2025

Once you welcome a child into your family, there are certain basic legal documents you'll need to ensure are in place. They include:

1. A Will
2. Standby Guardianship Designation
3. Power of Attorney for the Care of a Minor Child

Why a Will? 

For starters, the Will is where you can leave gifts for your loved ones. But most important for parents, making another adult your child’s “Godparent” is nice and all, but means nothing when it becomes time for a legal guardian to be appointed. A Will is where you nominate the permanent guardian for your child if you pass away. If your child has another legal parent, in many cases they will be the default guardian. However there are circumstances where another adult would be a better option. In your Will you can make that known. Plus, even if your child does have another parent who is alive today, they may not be alive tomorrow. The designation in your Will is necessary in case at the time of your death, there is no other living parent.

What is a Designation of Standby Guardian?

While the Will does nominate a guardian for the minor child, that designation is only triggered after your death. What happens if you are seriously injured or ill and cannot care for your dependent(s)? This is where the standby guardianship designation and/or power of attorney for the care of a minor child come in.

With a standby guardian designation, a parent can appoint someone to be a short term guardian for up to 4 months. There are some court processes that must be followed to do this correctly. Schedule a call to learn more about this option for your family.

Power of Attorney for the Care of a Minor Child

The Power of Attorney for the Care of a Minor Child is a great tool when a parent or guardian is leaving town for a few weeks, for example, and a blood relative to the child will be the caretaker while the parent is away. This document gives authority to that blood relative to provide care for the child, including enrolling in school, seeking medical services, and more.

In addition to these legal documents, life insurance becomes very important once a child is born. Parents can get a policy on the child, but also this is an opportune time to revisit your own life insurance policy. Term policies are good options for parents with young children because they are cheap and offer a large death benefit for the beneficiary if the policy holder dies within the term period. Having a policy in place will be helpful to a future guardian or single parent of your child as it can fund the ongoing care of your child if you pass away while the child is still a minor (and not earning money to support themselves).

Finally, if you are unmarried and give birth to a child, decide whether you want the child’s father to be the legal parent of the child. In Georgia, parenthood for a father is broken into two kinds: 1) biological, and 2) legal. An unmarried father to a child can be a biological parent but must take specific steps to also become that child' s legal parent. A biological father that is not also a legal father has no legal rights or relationship with the child. If this is your situation, consult with a family law attorney to learn more about your options in this situation.

This month, our Back-to-School Blog Series focuses on estate planning considerations for families with children — grouped by the age of the kids your life revolves around. Find more details and suggestions on our blog throughout September.

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