Grandparents as Primary Care Givers for Grandchildren

Over 29 million grandparents are the primary care givers for one or more grandchildren. When we refer to primary care giver, we are not talking about the weekly babysitter or fill in babysitter, but the equivalent of a full time parent. Of that 29 million almost 49% of those grandparents also have one child in the household as well. Approximately 43% of that 29 million are solely caring for the grandchild with no other parent in the household. In the remaining 8% of the cases there may actually be both parents of the grandchild living in the home, but those parents are unable to provide the primary care for that grandchild. When it comes to caring for a grandchild it is extremely important that an estate plan be prepared, reviewed and/or updated. Many estate planning documents provide for assets to be divided amongst your then living children and now you may need to address how that grandchild is treated. If the grandparent is the court appointed legal guardian of the grandchild, they may be the sole source of their income and future needs for education, health care or general living expenses. If the grandparent has actually adopted the grandchild then that grandchild will be treated as a child of the grandparent. The ultimate question is will the grandchild that is being cared for by the grandparent going to need more assistance down the road then the actual children. The percentages set up in your estate plan may not work with this new change in circumstances.