Dear Hudson,
But it’s all over the news. Bad things happen. And now that I’m a mom, I’m all too aware of the precious gift I have been given. I want to make sure he’s taken care of.
Have you made a plan for your child’s future? Have you selected guardians for him or her? It’s scary to think about it. But it’s even worse to think about what might happen if you don’t. I think the hardest part of this process is knowing where to start. How do I make my wishes known? If I hire an attorney will they understand how important this is?
I know this is a hard subject to even think about. I had to force myself
to do it. What motivated me was my sweet boy. I would hate for Hudson
to be caught up in a court system because we didn’t plan ahead.
Luckily, one of my very good real-life friends, Tamsen, is an attorney and has created a program called “Life Footprint“ that helps moms like me prioritize, organize, and legalize a plan for their child’s future. Tamsen is a mom herself and has thought about the worse-case scenario…..not being around to raise your child. Tamsen has helped my husband and I create letters (like the one above) that can be sent to Hudson to reassure him that he is loved…and to let him know who we have selected to take care of him in our absence.
Please chat with her about your plan for your family. Tamsen can help make your family legally healthy and ready for the future. And….she offers complimentary 30-minute appointments!
Meet Tamsen:
I am a mamattorney. So I am constantly balancing my roles as mom and attorney. It is with both of these “hats” that I write this post. There is so much we want to do and give our precious little ones and we have no problem executing a plan.
You live a vibrant, colorful, rich, and rewarding life and that is what you want to transfer to your children. In addition to making sure that they are taken care of in the very best way that you can plan for.
Just for a moment, imagine that you went to Target this afternoon and left your little one to play with your best friend. Unfortunately you are hit when a distracted driver was texting. You die on the scene. Your spouse or partner is out of town on a business trip. After hours go by your friend knows something is wrong. The police come to the house and crisis mode starts. Unfortunately there are no legal documents that say that your best friend can protect, keep, and love on your little one during this horrendous situation. No one can locate your husband. The police do what they have to do – pry your little one out of the arms of someone they know, love, and trust, and turn them over to child protective services until your spouse or partner can be located . . . I don’t know about you but every time I think about that situation I want to be sick. I can’t imagine my little guy not being in his own home surrounded by the people that love him in that situation.
When you start thinking about guardians check out these resources. Ideally you want a guardian list of 10 contingencies. I know it sounds like overkill but it’s not. So my challenge for you is to create your guardian list today. Take 10 minutes and write down who you absolutely do not want to ever have the chance to raise your little one and who you absolutely want to raise your little one.
Thank you SO much for this post! I've been thinking about doing this for SO long! It's so important to think about who you want your babies to be raised by if something were to happen to you and your spouse! It's hard to pick people who have the same beliefs as you and who you'd feel comfortable raising your children the way you would! I have my list of people who NOT to raise my children but my husband and I are going to sit down tonight and start this Footprint process!!!!
Great post! We just finalized everything for our living trust, last will and testament, and health care directives. It feels so good knowing that Caden will be taken care of if anything should happen to us. xoxo
Is it weird we had all that set up before we were even pregnant? But a living trust and figuring it all (and even life insurance) was super important in the few months after we got married!
Gosh, I have totally felt the same thing. Glad to know that this exists! We actually just did our wills with an attorney a few months ago. I'm glad we did.
When I have a child, my best friend, Nicole, is going to be the Godmother. I can see how this would be difficult to write…
When I have a child, my best friend, Nicole, is going to be the Godmother. I can see how this would be difficult to write…
When we first started planning for the "what if's" I found it to be so depressing and scary. But now I feel at peace with it because it is just another part of being a good parent. God willing nothing will happen to Hubby and myself, but if it did we know that our children will be taken care of the way we want them to be.
Good for you for helping others take care of the children no matter what!!!
My husband and I just went thru this with an attorney here in Houston! It is awful having to make those kind of plans but so worth it if something happens! Great post!!
awww…such a hard post, but you are SO right – it's worth it. you must do it! so important. I dread having to do this but in the end it's what is right!
Beautifully written, a subject most don't like to speak about or think about! On a side note, do you have a hair tutorial post? You're hair is so fab girl 🙂
xx
Megan
Instagram: megawat
http://hellonewlywedlife.blogspot.com/
And I'm a new follower 😉 Love your blog!
I would be scared if my child died. My children (if I have any) will have Godparents.
I dont have kids yet, but this really was such a heartfelt blog post! I cant imagine the day I do and I have to also write this letter!
I'm recruiting my husband tonight to sit and work on this with me. Thank you so much for the introduction to this service!
Also, I love your shirt in your family photos! May I ask where you got it? 🙂
Thank you so much for recommending this service. My husband and I plan to talk about this asap. Also, I looove the green shirt in your family photos on this post. May I ask where it is from? 🙂