If Something Happened to You Tomorrow, Who Would Care for Your Children—and Manage Their Inheritance?

By Sarah Simani, Esq.

Consider a hypothetical Boca Raton couple — call them Marc and Elena, with children who are 6 and 9. A few years ago they signed wills naming each other first, then Elena's sister as guardian. They felt relieved. That was the last time they thought about it.

Their instinct was right: naming someone matters. But their plan answers only one of the two questions every parent's plan has to answer.

Two questions, not one

Who will raise your children? And who will manage the money your children inherit?

Those are separate decisions. A plan that answers only the first leaves the second to a court, a default rule, or whoever happens to be holding the checkbook.

What naming a guardian does — and doesn't do

In Florida, you can name the person you want to raise your children, and the court considers your choice. It isn't automatic: the court makes the appointment, based on what's best for your children. But naming someone puts your judgment — the judgment of the people who know your children best — squarely in front of the judge.

Here's what surprises most parents: the guardian you name to raise your children doesn't automatically control their inheritance.

The guardian and the trustee

A guardian raises your children: where they live, where they go to school, who their doctor is, what a Tuesday night looks like.

A trustee manages what you leave for them: investing it, paying for what they need, and following the instructions you wrote.

The same person can do both, and in many families that's the right answer. In others, the warmest, most available person to raise your children isn't the person you'd pick to manage a life insurance payout for fifteen years. Choosing different people isn't distrust — it lets each person do what they do well. Whoever you choose, name a backup for each role.

Why not simply hand it over at 18?

At 18, your child is a legal adult. Without appropriate planning, inherited assets may become fully available to your child at 18 — with no continuing guidance or protection.

Most parents want something gentler. A trust is where your intentions get specific: it can direct the trustee to help with housing, health care, education, and everyday support while your children are young, and it can spread distributions across later ages, or keep the assets in trust with a trustee who continues managing them as each child's needs change. There's no single right structure. Families make different choices for good reasons.

The part that quietly undoes good plans

Much of what your children would inherit may never pass under your will at all. Life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death bank accounts go to whoever is named on the beneficiary form. If a minor child is named directly, that money can land right back in a court process — even if your will and trust are exactly right.

That's why the documents, the account titles, and the beneficiary designations have to work together. A coordinated plan lets you choose the people, the protections, and the financial structure your children would need — not merely name someone to raise them.

Worth a second look

If you have minor children, it's worth checking whether your documents, account titles, and beneficiary designations actually fit together. Simani Law, PA offers in-person consultations in Boca Raton and virtual consultations. Call (561) 226-3933.

This article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is unique — please consult a licensed attorney about your specific circumstances.

The Birthday That Changes Everything: What Florida Parents of Children with Special Needs Must Know Before 18

By Sarah Simani, Esq.

For most families, an 18th birthday is a milestone to celebrate. For parents of a child with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, or another developmental disability, it's also a legal cliff that almost nobody warns you about.

At midnight on your child's 18th birthday, Florida law sees an adult. Not "an adult if they can manage it" — an adult, full stop, regardless of diagnosis or ability. Your role in your child's life hasn't changed, but your automatic legal authority to make decisions for them and to obtain their protected information generally ends that day.

The morning after

Here's what that can look like in real life. The specialists who have treated your child for years may decline to discuss their care with you unless your adult child agrees, you have legal authority, or a privacy exception applies. The hospital can ask for your adult child's consent — or proof of your legal authority — before letting you make a medical decision. Most special education decision-making rights transfer to your child at 18, although required notices generally must still be provided to both the student and the parents. Social Security generally deals with an adult beneficiary directly and uses its own representative payee process when someone else must manage benefits. Banks, insurers, and other agencies set their own policies, but many will ask for your adult child's authorization or proof of your authority.

Most parents discover this in the worst possible moments — in an emergency room, at an IEP transition meeting, or on the phone with an agency that suddenly won't talk to them. The good news: Florida has built a clear path for exactly this situation, and with early planning it's often far less daunting than families fear.

Guardian advocacy: Florida's streamlined answer

Limited or plenary (full) guardianship in Florida requires a court to determine that a person is incapacitated — a process involving an examining committee that many families find heartbreaking. For adults with developmental disabilities, Florida offers another option.

Guardian advocacy is governed principally by Section 393.12 of the Florida Statutes, and Section 744.3085 also recognizes the appointment of guardian advocates. A court can appoint a parent (or another caring adult) to make decisions in the specific areas where their adult child lacks decision-making ability — which may include health care, education, or finances — without a separate adjudication of incapacity and without an examining committee. Whatever rights aren't specifically delegated to the guardian advocate, your child keeps.

It is still a court proceeding, with notice, a court-appointed attorney for your child, and a hearing. It's often simpler than guardianship, but timing, cost, and complexity vary with each family's circumstances. For many South Florida families, it is one of the most important legal steps of their child's transition to adulthood.

Sometimes less is more

Not every young adult needs a guardian advocate. Florida law requires the petition to explain why less-restrictive alternatives aren't enough, and a court may not appoint a guardian advocate if a valid advance directive or durable power of attorney will sufficiently meet your child's needs.

Depending on your child's abilities, the right answer might be a durable power of attorney and health care surrogate designation, signed by your child if they have the capacity to understand what they're signing — these keep your child in charge while giving you the legal ability to step in. It might be a supported decision-making agreement, which under Florida law lets a trusted person obtain information and help communicate your child's own decisions, without authority to make decisions for them. Or it might be a simple release or authorization for medical and educational information, if information access is the only real gap. Each option depends on your child's decision-making capacity, their circumstances, and the legal requirements for that particular document.

Choosing the least-restrictive tool that genuinely protects your child isn't just good law — it's good parenting.

The money question: protecting benefits

There's a second cliff that catches families off guard, and this one is financial. Many adults with disabilities rely on SSI and Medicaid, which can have strict asset limits — for SSI, $2,000 in countable resources for an individual. A well-meaning grandparent's inheritance, a savings account in your child's name, or a personal injury settlement can put the very benefits that fund their care at risk.

A special needs trust can help, but the type matters. A third-party special needs trust is funded with a parent's or grandparent's money, usually through their estate plan; when properly drafted, it generally isn't counted as your child's resource. If you have a child with a disability, your own estate plan should usually route their inheritance through this kind of trust rather than to them directly. It's one of the most consequential paragraphs in any will or trust you sign.

A first-party special needs trust holds money that already belongs to your child, such as a settlement. Federal law allows it for a disabled person under 65 if it meets strict requirements, including repaying Medicaid from what remains at your child's death. Either way, the name alone protects nothing: the trust's terms, the source of the funds, and how distributions are made all affect eligibility.

The timeline that makes it easy

The ideal time to start is around your child's 17th birthday. That leaves comfortable time to talk through the options, sign any documents your child is able to sign, and — if guardian advocacy is the right fit — let your attorney evaluate the available timing for a petition and minimize any gap in your ability to act.

If your child is already over 18, don't panic. Families come to this at every stage, and guardian advocacy and many alternatives remain available at 19 or 25, just as at 18. The best time was last year; the second-best time is now.

Where to start

Talk to other parents, ask your child's school transition coordinator what they're seeing, and get legal advice specific to your family — every child's abilities and every family's finances are different.

Simani Law, PA helps families throughout Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties with guardian advocacy, less-restrictive alternatives, and special needs trusts — in person in Boca Raton or virtually. You can read our plain-English guide at simanilaw.com/turning-18-with-special-needs or call (561) 226-3933.

This article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is unique — please consult a licensed attorney about your specific circumstances.