Every parent’s nightmare is leaving their children without clear plans for their care. Who would raise them if both parents died in an accident? Would your aging parents get custody even though they lack the energy? Could your ex’s new spouse raise your kids? Might your children end up with relatives who don’t share your values—or worse, fighting over custody in court?
Without legal guardian designations, Texas courts make these life-altering decisions based on statutory priority, not your wishes.
At Strickland Law Firm, we help Houston parents create legally binding Guardianship for Minor Children designations that specify exactly who should raise their kids if both parents die or become incapacitated. Included in your Last Will and Testament or Pourover Will, these nominations give you control over the most important decision you’ll ever make—ensuring your children are loved, cared for, and raised according to your values by people you trust.
Guardianship for Minor Children is your legal designation of who should care for your children if you and the other parent are both deceased or incapacitated and unable to fulfill parental responsibilities. This designation is typically included in your Last Will and Testament or, if you have a trust-based estate plan, in your Pourover Will.
Texas law recognizes two types of guardianship you can designate: guardian of the person (who raises your children day-to-day and makes personal decisions for them) and guardian of the estate (who manages financial assets and property your children inherit or that are designated for their care). You can name the same person for both roles or split responsibilities based on different people’s strengths.
Without guardian designations, Texas courts appoint guardians based on statutory priority—typically preferring grandparents, then adult siblings, then other relatives—without knowing your family dynamics, relationships, or what’s truly best for your children. Courts make decisions based on limited information during formal proceedings that are stressful, expensive, and traumatic for everyone involved.
We’ve helped hundreds of Houston parents protect their children’s futures through proper guardian nominations. When you work with us, we:
You’ll have absolute confidence that your children will be cared for by people you’ve carefully chosen who share your values, not by courts applying statutory formulas to families they don’t know.
The guardian of the person has physical custody of your children and makes all day-to-day decisions about their lives—where they live, what schools they attend, what medical care they receive, their religious upbringing, discipline and rules, extracurricular activities and friendships, and every aspect of their daily welfare.
This person essentially becomes your children’s parent, providing love, stability, guidance, and care through the rest of their childhood. Choosing this guardian is arguably the most important decision in your estate plan.
Consider who shares your values and parenting philosophy, has the physical and emotional capacity to raise children, provides a stable, loving home environment, has relationships with your children already (they know and trust this person), possesses the maturity and judgment you trust, and is genuinely willing to accept this profound responsibility.
Location matters significantly. Will your children remain in their current community, schools, and social circles? Or will they relocate to where your chosen guardian lives? Consider the impact on your children’s stability, friendships, education, and adjustment during an already traumatic time.
The guardian of the estate manages financial assets your children inherit or receive—life insurance proceeds, investment accounts, real estate, business interests, and other property. This guardian makes financial decisions for your children’s benefit, invests assets wisely, spends money appropriately for their care and needs, and maintains detailed financial records for court review.
Choose someone who is financially responsible and trustworthy, understands investments and money management, will act in your children’s best interests rather than their own, and is willing to maintain the required documentation and court accountings.
Many parents split guardianship roles—naming one person as guardian of the person because they’d be wonderful at day-to-day parenting, and a different person as guardian of the estate because they excel at financial management. This allows each guardian to contribute their strengths.
Alternatively, many families create trusts to manage children’s financial assets with a trustee controlling distributions. The trustee can be the same as or different from either guardian, providing additional oversight and control over how inheritance money is used. This prevents guardians from misusing funds and ensures money lasts until children reach financial maturity.
Selecting guardians requires careful thought about multiple factors. Beyond basic suitability, consider age and health—will your chosen guardians be able to care for children through their entire childhood? Grandparents might be wonderful but may lack the energy or longevity to raise teenagers. Conversely, very young siblings might not have the maturity or stability yet.
Evaluate financial stability. Can your potential guardians afford to raise additional children? Life insurance and estate assets will help, but day-to-day costs increase significantly. Don’t burden guardians financially while also asking them to raise your children.
Consider family dynamics. How will adding your children affect the guardian’s existing family? Do they have children of similar ages who would become siblings? Would your children overwhelm a small household or get lost in a large one?
Think about parenting styles and values. Do potential guardians share your views on education, discipline, religion, and child-rearing? Will they maintain relationships with both sides of your family? Do they understand what’s important to you about your children’s upbringing?
For blended families, guardianship becomes more complex. Biological parents typically have legal priority for their biological children, but stepparents or others might provide better stability and care depending on relationships and circumstances. Address these nuances clearly in your guardian designations.
Always name multiple alternate guardians—people who would serve if your primary choice cannot. Primary guardians might predecease you, develop health problems preventing them from serving, experience financial difficulties making guardianship impossible, relocate to circumstances unsuitable for raising children, or simply decline the responsibility when the time actually comes.
Without alternates, courts revert to statutory priority appointments if primary guardians cannot serve, defeating your entire planning purpose. Name at least one or two alternates—more if possible—to ensure someone you’ve chosen will be available when needed.
Guardianship for Minor Children designations in your Last Will and Testament address permanent situations—both parents dying or becoming permanently incapacitated. These guardians assume full parental responsibility for the remainder of your children’s childhood.
For temporary situations—extended business travel, military deployment, medical treatment, or other circumstances where you’re temporarily unavailable but still living and maintaining parental rights—you need different documents like temporary custody agreements or Power of Attorney for Minors providing temporary authority to designated caregivers.
Don’t confuse temporary custody arrangements with permanent guardian designations. They serve different purposes and require different legal documentation.
Before naming someone as guardian, have honest, thorough conversations with them. Confirm they’re willing to accept this responsibility—don’t assume someone would be honored to raise your children without asking. Discuss your expectations about values, parenting, education, religion, and what matters most to you about your children’s upbringing.
Be realistic about the commitment involved. Raising children is a 10-20 year responsibility depending on children’s ages. It will affect the guardian’s finances, lifestyle, marriage, career, and existing children. Ensure they understand the magnitude of what you’re asking.
Talk about practical matters. Would children move to the guardian’s home, or would guardian move into your home? How would it affect the guardian’s family dynamics? What financial resources would be available to support the children’s care?
If guardians express any hesitation or concerns, listen carefully. You need guardians who are fully committed, not people feeling obligated. It’s better to know someone isn’t suitable now than to discover it when your children desperately need them.
Guardian designations work hand-in-hand with financial planning. Life insurance provides funds for children’s care—calculate realistically how much guardians will need to raise your children through adulthood, fund their education, maintain their lifestyle, and cover all expenses. Many experts recommend 10-20 times your annual income in coverage.
Structure how children receive assets carefully. Trusts within your Last Will and Testament or as part of trust-based estate planning prevent children from receiving large inheritances at age 18 when they lack maturity to manage wealth responsibly. Instead, structure distributions at milestone ages (25, 30, 35), for specific purposes (education, home purchase, business start-up), or based on achievements and demonstrated responsibility.
Coordinate life insurance beneficiary designations with your estate plan. Name your trust or a trustee as beneficiary rather than minor children directly, ensuring someone manages proceeds wisely rather than children receiving lump sums at 18.
Review and update guardian designations regularly—every 3-5 years minimum—and immediately after major life events. Update when children are born or adopted, when named guardians’ circumstances change significantly (divorce, health problems, financial difficulties, relocation), when your relationship with designated guardians changes, when you relocate to another state, or when children’s needs change as they grow.
Children’s needs differ dramatically at different ages. Guardians perfect for caring for toddlers may not be ideal for teenagers. As children mature, they may develop strong preferences about who they’d want to live with—their input should be considered.
Creating updated guardian designations is straightforward—amend your Last Will and Testament through a codicil or create a new will entirely, ensuring the new document specifically revokes prior guardian nominations.
Without guardian designations, Texas courts appoint guardians based on statutory priority lists and family members’ petitions. Courts typically prefer relatives—grandparents first, then adult siblings, then other relatives—but statutory priority doesn’t account for who’s actually capable, suitable, or aligned with your values.
Family members may fight over guardianship in court during guardianship proceedings that are traumatic for children. Relatives you’d never want raising your children might be appointed by default simply because they’re next in the priority list. In worst cases without suitable relatives willing to serve, children could be placed in foster care temporarily while courts search for permanent solutions.
Guardianship litigation is expensive, time-consuming, and emotionally devastating. Courts hear testimony from competing relatives, evaluate living situations, and make decisions based on limited information under difficult circumstances. Children endure instability and uncertainty during already traumatic times.
All of this is entirely preventable through proper Guardianship for Minor Children designations in your Last Will and Testament.
At Strickland Law Firm, we understand that designating guardians means confronting fears about worst-case scenarios. These conversations are emotionally difficult, but they’re profound acts of love that provide invaluable protection for your children.
We guide parents through every aspect of guardian selection with sensitivity, expertise, and practical wisdom. We help you think through all the considerations, make informed decisions, and create legally sound documents that give you complete peace of mind about your children’s future.
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Guardian of the person has physical custody of your children and makes all day-to-day decisions about their lives—where they live, what schools they attend, medical care, religious upbringing, discipline, activities, and every aspect of raising them. This person essentially becomes their parent with full parental authority and responsibility. Guardian of the estate manages financial assets your children inherit—life insurance proceeds, investment accounts, real estate, and other property. They make financial decisions, invest wisely, spend money for children’s benefit, and maintain financial records for court review. You can name the same person for both roles if they’re capable of both parenting and financial management, or split responsibilities if different people have different strengths. For example, your sister might be perfect for day-to-day parenting while your financially savvy brother manages inheritance funds. Many parents also use trusts with trustees controlling financial distributions, adding another layer of oversight separate from either guardian.
Yes, you can name out-of-state guardians, and Texas courts will generally honor your designation. However, out-of-state guardianship involves significant considerations. If appointed, the guardian would typically either relocate to Texas to maintain your children in their community, or move your children to their state, uprooting them from schools, friends, and familiar surroundings during an already traumatic time. Interstate guardianship may require legal proceedings in multiple states, adding complexity and expense. Consider whether maintaining your children in their current community is more important than having them with your preferred guardian. If your best guardian choice lives out of state, discuss logistics with them—would they relocate to Texas if needed, or is moving children to their state the plan? Many parents prioritize the right caregiver over location, believing the person raising their children matters more than geography, but understand the trade-offs involved.
Ideally, yes—both parents should coordinate and name identical guardians in their respective Last Will and Testament or Pourover Will documents to prevent confusion and conflict. When both parents agree on guardianship and create matching designations, there’s clear direction if both die simultaneously or are incapacitated. However, each parent has independent legal authority to designate guardians even if the other parent disagrees. If you and your co-parent name different guardians and both die, the court must resolve the conflict—typically examining which designation is most recent, considering children’s best interests, hearing from proposed guardians, and potentially holding contested proceedings. This creates exactly the family conflict and trauma you’re trying to prevent. For married couples or amicably co-parenting parents, coordinating guardian nominations is essential. For separated or divorced parents with serious disagreements, each can create independent designations, but understand this may lead to court battles if both parents die, with children caught in the middle during already difficult times.
Texas law doesn’t give children legal authority to choose their guardian, but courts do consider children’s preferences, particularly as they get older. Children age 12 and older can typically express preferences to the court, and judges give significant weight to mature children’s wishes when determining guardianship. However, the court ultimately decides based on the children’s best interests—not solely on their preference. A teenager might want to live with a friend’s family or a fun uncle, but the court might determine your designated guardian provides better stability, values, and long-term care. Your guardian designations in your Last Will and Testament carry substantial legal weight—courts follow parents’ expressed wishes absent compelling reasons to deviate. As your children mature, consider discussing guardianship with them age-appropriately. Their input can inform your guardian selections, and preparing them for the possibility helps reduce trauma if guardianship ever becomes necessary. Update your guardian designations as children’s relationships and circumstances evolve.
Review and update Guardianship for Minor Children designations every 3-5 years minimum, and immediately after major life changes. Specific triggers requiring review include birth or adoption of additional children, when named guardians experience significant changes (divorce, health problems, financial difficulties, relocation, death), when your relationship with designated guardians changes, when you relocate to another state, when children’s needs change as they grow (special needs develop, behavioral issues arise), or when children reach different developmental stages. Guardians appropriate for toddlers may not be ideal for teenagers—children’s needs evolve dramatically as they age. As children mature, they may develop preferences about who they’d want to live with that should inform your decisions. Additionally, your chosen guardians’ circumstances change over time—they age, their financial situations change, their health evolves, and their capacity to raise children may increase or decrease. Regularly reviewing ensures your designations remain current, appropriate, and actually protective given everyone’s current circumstances. Update your Last Will and Testament or Pourover Will whenever guardian changes are needed to ensure your most current wishes control.
Your children are your most precious responsibility. Don’t leave their care to courts, statutory priority lists, or family disputes. Guardianship for Minor Children designations in your Last Will and Testament ensure they’re raised by people you trust who share your values and will love them as you do. This is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make—make it now while you can.
Call Strickland Law Firm today to create guardianship designations that protect your children's future.
