Legal Issues: Children

Making a Will to Provide for Orphaned Children

The Notre Dame Legal Aid Clinic urges international parents with children under the age of 18 to plan for what would happen to their children in the unlikely event both parents die before the children are of an age to legally make decisions for themselves.

Generally speaking, this would call for the preparation of a will. Wills may not seem important to young parents with few goods or investments to secure and pass along, but providing for the care of an orphaned child is a special and urgent reason to make detailed arrangements. This planning usually involves:

• The nomination of a guardian for the children (this can be done through a will)
• An arrangement (trust) for management of benefits payable, ultimately, to the children
• Adequate funding for the trust (usually through savings or life insurance benefits payable to the trustee)
• A will (for back-up)

The best way to make these arrangements is through an attorney. If the arrangements call for the children to be taken from Indiana and cared for in their home country, the attorney should become familiar with the laws of that country regarding child custody.

To locate an attorney in the South Bend area, contact the St. Joseph County Bar Association: 574-235-9657. Low-income families can seek help from the South Bend office of Indiana Legal Services, 574-234-8121, or from Notre Dame Legal Aid Clinic, 574-631-7795.

Students who decide against seeking the assistance of an attorney, can create a will by using online forms or legal “guide” books. At the very least, students should write out instructions for the care of their children, stipulating with whom the children would reside while arrangements for legal custody are made, and with whom the children will reside permanently. Students should also look into life insurance policies and make plans for financial support of these children.