I recently took out a 500K Term Life Insurance policy through my Insurance company. I have it set up so that my children are my beneficiaries, but I’m looking to set up something that’s a bit more secure and would like to know how I can do this without having to pay outrageous lawyer fees.
What I would like to see happen is have it set up in my will that $100k will be left to each my three children in separate saving accounts that are court protected until they are 25 , then they money will be turned over to them. I would also like $50K to be left in an emergency fund that is also court protected with all the kids names on it, this money can only be used in emergency situations to help support the children. Another $70K would be used to pay off my debt and burial funeral costs. After everything has been taken care of the remainder would be left to the guardian of my children….. I would like to have it set up that the guardian be determined based on the best interest of my children upon my death with my grandparents being the overseers in this decision.
I’ve looked into setting up a trust, naming beneficiaries, estate planning and a few other options and there just doesn’t seem to be a way to set thing up exactly the way I want it. There’s always a lope hole or something that would give the children guardian or the trustee more power over the money then I would like. Also I don’t want to be locked into a trust…. especially if I decide to take out a new policy down the road.
Any suggestions would be appreciated… I’m also not too legal savvy so exact instructions on how to go about everything would be nice… 
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Wills do NOT control life insurance policy designations. Period. So if you leave the money to the kids in the policy, THAT money doesn’t get directed by a will.
Sounds like you REALLY want to set up a trust and have the life insurance fund the trust, or, you want to make your estate the beneficiary of your life insurance – but you have to be very careful about that, because then your creditors get first dibs on the money, before your kids can get anything.
And as long as your trust is not an irrevokable trust, no problem, you’re not locked into it until you die.
You need to pay a lawyer a bit of money to set this up. “Do it yourself” legal processes work about as well as “do it yourself” surgery.
How have you “looked into” these things? Your will has NOTHING to do with life insurance payouts unless you’re foolish enough to designate your estate itself as the beneficiary.
I’d suggest an appointment with an estate planning attorney.
There is no way to do court protection without lawyer fees. Either forget the court protection idea or forget the “without haivng to pay outrageous lawyer fees” requirement. The two are mutually imcompatible. Pick one or the other, not both.
If you want the money to go to whomever your gardparents think should be the guardian, then specify that the beneficiary of the life insurance is whomever your grandparents recommend be the guardian, without regard to whether that person actually becomes guardian.
If you do not want the children’s father to get the money, or to seek guardianship for that reason, then do not specify that the guardian is the beneficiary. Either name a person or specify that your grandparents decide.
You can easily check life insurance quotes in internet, for example here – lifeinsurance.awardspace.info
It sounds like you are very young since you discuss your grandparents vs your parents.
Is this scenario based only on a 500K term life policy or do you have other assets?
If you try and put this together w/out a lawyer, could be all kinds of problems down the road that you could never expect or understand.
Look, you need to make an appointment with an estate lawyer on getting a will put together with your wishes. Most likely this will take 2 appointments. 1 for the consult and your wishes and the legal advice of what can be done or not and the 2nd with the contract.
good luck
You need a lawyer in order to setup a trust and will….basically policy would name your trust as the beneficiary, and the terms of the trust would be setup to accomplish your above wishes.