Five Planning Questions for Single Parents

In most states, your client's spouse is first in line to make health and financial decisions in the case he becomes incapacitated or dies suddenly. But for single parents, the question of who handles these decisions is complicated - Who gets custody of the children? Who manages their finances? Who provides them housing and food? The last thing your clients want is for a court to decide their children’s future. When only one parent is involved, certain aspects of an estate plan demand special attention.

If your client is a single parent, here are five questions you should ask:

Jason Smolen is co-founding principal and estate law attorney at SmolenPlevy in Vienna, Virginia.