KIDS PROTECTION PLANNING Do I need to do Kid Protection Planning? If you are a mom or dad with children at home under the age of 18, you need a Kids Protection Plan™ because if you don’t have one and you are killed or incapacitated in an accident, when the police show up at your house and find your kids home alone or with a babysitter, they will have no choice but to call in Child Protective Services and have your kids removed from your home until the system can figure out what to do.  And, that’s just for the short-term.  For their long-term care, your children would be at the mercy of an overcrowded state court system that could never determine what is in the best interest of your child as well as you can.  Consider the true story of Melanie and Casey Barber who lived in San Diego and died in a car wreck on July 31, 2006, leaving behind three young boys, Nicholas, Cullen, and Albert.  They never could have imagined the family fighting that would ensue over the care of their sons, which generated over 1,000 pages of court documents, had family members making hideous allegations about each other in public court, and involved 9 lawyers and tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of dollars spent to determine who would raise Nicholas, Cullen, and Albert.  And, yes, those boys did spend a short time in foster care before one of Melanie’s sisters could be located to take care of them.  If the idea of even some of that happening to your kids is as frightening to you as it is to us, you will want to have a Kids Protection Plan™ in place to make sure something like that never happens to your precious children.  What is a Kids Protection Plan™? A Kids Protection Plan™ is a set of instructions, legal documents, and even an ID card for your wallet that you need to have if you have kids at home who count on you for their well-being and care.  If you are in an accident, your Kids Protection Plan™ will make sure your children are never turned over to Child Protective Services because the police don't have clear instructions from you and, if the unthinkable happens, your Kids Protection Plan™ will make sure that your children are not raised by someone chosen by a judge who does not know exactly who you want to raise them.  In 9 simple steps you will have the total assurance of knowing your children will always be raised with your values, insights, stories and experience, even if you can't be there.  What if I have guardians for my kids named in my Will or a Declaration of Guardians? A Will or Declaration of Guardians is not sufficient to protect your kids in these situations.  First of all, the police won’t know where to find your Will or Declaration of Guardians, so your kids will likely wind up in the hands of strangers until everyone can figure out what to do.  Plus, a traditional Will or Declaration of Guardians for Minor Children only nominates permanent guardians for your kids for the long-term, starting after the Court makes its decision.  Not addressed is who should take charge of your children immediately and comfort them in those terrible first hours.  And, if you name the guardians in your Will, that only works if you die, not if you become temporarily or permanently incapacitated.  To us, as dads and lawyers, those possibilities are unacceptable.  That is why we make the Kids Protection Plan™ a part of all our family wealth planning for families with minor children.  How can I get more information? Fill in this information and we’ll send you our FREE Report on how you can protect your family and 7 tips you can implement immediately for the protection of your children.