Navigating Estate Planning as a Single Parent
Sept. 17, 2025
Being a single parent means shouldering enormous responsibility—providing emotional support and financial stability as well as nurturing your children’s future. Yet in the midst of busy routines, planning for the unexpected may be easily postponed. An estate plan isn’t just a legal formality; it’s a roadmap for how your children will be cared for if something happens to you.
Estate planning as a single parent is deeply personal. It involves making decisions you hope never come to pass. But with a clear, well-crafted plan, you can safeguard your children’s welfare, make sure your assets support them, and leave a legacy of love and foresight.
At the Law Offices of Julie A. Schejbal, CHTD, located in Dunkirk, Maryland, we help parents in Calvert County, Prince George’s County, Charles County, and St. Mary's County create estate plans that protect and uplift their children. Contact us today to start planning for your children’s future.
Why Estate Planning Is Essential for Single Parents
Even if you're young and healthy, misfortune can strike unexpectedly. Without a plan, your children may face uncertainty: a judge decides their guardian, an executor with little knowledge handles their inheritance, or a gap in financial resources hinders their upbringing. You deserve to have confidence that your wishes guide every outcome, not guesswork or court orders.
Estate planning allows you to address three core needs:
Guardian designation: Making sure someone you trust raises your children, aligned with your values and expectations.
Financial provision: Creating funds to support education, housing, health, and general upbringing.
Asset distribution: Determining how and when your children access their inheritance.
By proactively defining guardianship and financial structure, you maintain control and build a protective foundation so that your absence doesn’t become a crisis for those you care about most.
Choosing the Right Guardian for Your Children
Perhaps the most emotionally weighty decision a single parent faces is selecting a guardian for their children. This choice touches on shared values, parenting styles, trust, and long-term bonds.
Begin by identifying potential candidates—family members or close friends—who share your priorities. Consider their emotional availability, stability, proximity to your children’s lives, and parenting philosophy.
If possible, have candid conversations with candidates before including them legally in your documents. It’s important they understand expectations and feel prepared to step in.
Once you’ve chosen a guardian, formalize your wishes in a legal document, typically a will or even a stand-alone guardianship designation form. This step is more than symbolism. It gives clarity to courts, reduces disputes, and lets loved ones act quickly and confidently in keeping your children’s best interests front and center.
Establishing a Trust to Manage Your Children’s Inheritance
Leaving assets to minor children without structure can be problematic. Guardians might struggle with financial decisions, or courts could approve distributions you never intended. With a trust, your assets are handled with care according to the priorities you set.
A revocable living trust gives you control during life and avoids probate later. You can name a trustee (distinct from the guardian) to manage assets on behalf of your children until they reach an age or milestone you specify. Alternatively, an irrevocable trust can provide added protection from creditors and reduce estate taxes.
Key advantages of a trust include:
Controlled distributions, for education, medical needs, or living expenses.
Professional oversight, giving your trustee discretion and accountability.
Continuity, making sure assets are managed even if the guardian becomes incapacitated or disagrees with decisions.
Trusts can also include special provisions—for example, staggered distributions (e.g., one-third at age 18, another third at age 25, and the remainder at age 30), or requirements tied to education, marriage, or employment.
Designating an Executor and a Trustee
As a single parent, your estate plan may involve both a guardian and a trustee/executor, but remember, those don’t need to be the same person.
The executor (or personal representative) oversees the administration of your estate—paying debts, filing taxes, and distributing assets according to your will.
The trustee manages the trust assets and confirms that distributions align with your instructions.
It’s essential to choose people you trust—ones who are organized, honest, communicative, and, ideally, understanding of your core values. For some single parents, that might mean naming a professional such as an attorney, accountant, or corporate fiduciary to serve alongside or instead of a family member.
Having the right people in these roles provides peace of mind: your children’s financial well-being is in trustworthy hands, and their lives remain grounded by continuity and care.
Planning for Your Children’s Future Needs
As a single parent, you bear twice the financial and emotional planning responsibilities. Estate planning helps set up security and makes sure your children’s needs are met even when you can’t oversee things directly.
Consider the essential categories:
Education: College funds can be managed through the trust or dedicated vehicles like 529 plans.
Daily needs: Living expenses, health care costs, or childcare can be covered through structured disbursements.
Extraordinary costs: Unexpected medical bills or therapy sessions should be anticipated with discretionary trust funds.
You might draft broad guidelines in your trust—typical categories and priorities—or name a trusted advisor or co‑trustee to approve distribution requests. Transparency and clarity make it easier for successors to act confidently in your children’s best interest.
Maintaining Liquidity and Funding Your Plan
A sound estate plan includes both legal documents and the funding to support them.
Life insurance can provide immediate liquidity to implement your plan—covering rent or mortgage, educational trust funding, and living expenses during transition.
Retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s, etc.) and life insurance must have designated beneficiaries—ideally, the trust you’ve established.
Bank accounts and assets should be titled or aligned so they pass smoothly within your plan.
Without proper funding, your guardians and trustees may be forced into borrowing, depleting assets, or seeking court guidance—delaying or derailing your intentions. Life insurance and carefully coordinated beneficiary designations make sure your children are provided for right away.
Coordinating Your Will, Trust, Powers of Attorney, and Health Directives
As a single parent, your estate plan typically includes multiple legal components that must work together seamlessly.
Will: Names guardians, leaves any assets not covered by trusts, and expresses final wishes.
Trust (revocable or irrevocable): Holds assets for your children and provides structured access.
Durable Power of Attorney: Allows someone you trust to manage your financial and legal affairs if you're incapacitated.
Advance Healthcare Directive and Healthcare Power of Attorney: Makes sure your medical wishes and decisions are respected, even when you can’t voice them.
These documents collectively form the legal scaffolding of your plan. They keep your wishes intact through life’s uncertainties and make sure protections extend in every scenario, from illness to incapacity to death.
Talking to Loved Ones About Your Plan
Many single parents hesitate to discuss guardianship or financial arrangements due to the emotional weight of such conversations. Yet keeping plans secret can leave your loved ones confused or conflicted when the plan must be enacted.
Start with a calm, clear, and values-focused conversation. Share your concerns for your children’s welfare, explain your choices, and express your trust in the designated guardian, trustee, or executor. Hearing your words directly today avoids painful guesswork or disputes later.
For your children (age-appropriate), share the existence of the plan without overwhelming detail. Reinforce that they’re loved and that you’re doing everything you can to protect them, including planning for any situation you've ever feared.
Keeping Your Plan Current
Life changes, and so should your estate plan. Updating your documents makes it so they continue to reflect your situation and wishes.
You should revisit your plan when any of the following occurs:
A new relationship, marriage, or divorce
Birth or adoption of additional children
Changes in guardians’ availability or capacity
Significant changes in your finances (e.g., buying a home, inheriting assets)
Shifts in Maryland laws affecting trusts, taxes, or guardianship
Reviewing every 2–3 years is a good practice. Setting a recurring reminder—perhaps alongside your tax planning—helps keep your plan current and effective.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
Even with the best intentions, some single parents make avoidable mistakes when working through the estate planning process. Common pitfalls include:
Forgetting to name a guardian or failing to formalize the choice in a will.
Naming guardians or trustees who live far away or who may be unwilling later.
Leaving assets outright to minors—forcing court control or inefficient administration.
Neglecting to designate beneficiaries or leaving them misaligned with your trust.
Failing to fund your trusts or account designations properly—leaving your children financially vulnerable.
By proactively addressing these areas and working with attorneys and financial advisors familiar with Maryland law, you can make sure your plan functions when it truly matters.
Contact an Experienced Estate Planning Attorney
At the Law Offices of Julie A. Schejbal, CHTD, we understand the unique pressures and priorities of single parents. Based in Dunkirk, Maryland, we help parents in Calvert County, Prince George’s County, Charles County, and St. Mary's County craft thoughtful and comprehensive estate plans.
Your role as a single parent is remarkable in its strength and love. Let us support you by making sure your children are cared for exactly as you intend, every step of the way. Contact Attorney Schejbal today to schedule a consultation.