[WSBAPT] Guardian of Estate vs. UTMA and Trust Planning

[Eric Reutter]

Hi Listmates,

Quick technical drafting question involving estate planning for minor
children. My question is in regards to guardian nomination provisions in a
WIll. I have seen slightly varying language in practitioner forms for the
clauses that nominate a guardian for a minor child. Some clauses nominate
only as guardian of the child's person, while others appoint the guardian
as guardian of both the child's person and estate.

Example:

"I nominate John Doe as guardian of my child's person..."

 vs.

"I nominate John Doe as guardian of my child's person *and estate*...

I understand the concepts of guardianship of a child's person vs. a child's
estate, but my question is, is there any downside to having the nomination
clause cover guardianship of both a child's person and estate? Or is there
a reason to have the provision cover only nomination of the child's person?

If, for example, the estate plan was utilizing the UTMA (or trust planning)
to pass assets to the children, would a concurrent nomination of an
individual as guardian of a child's estate conflict with that UTMA or trust
planning? If for example, if John Doe was UTMA custodian, and Jane Doe was
guardian of the child's estate, would that create a conflict?

Or, would the guardian of the estate simply manage any future funds that
might come into the child's estate, while the UTMA custodian would manage
the funds passed through the WIll?

I am curious to hear some practitioner input/explanations on this issue.

Best regards,

*Eric Reutter, *Partner
*J.D., LL.M. Taxation*
14205 SE 36th Street, Suite 100
Bellevue, WA 98006
*(425) 298-7110* | *appelgatereutter.com <http://appelgatereutter.com/> *



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