Estate planning is important for everyone, especially those with children. Perhaps you already have a will and/or trust setup. But one part that is often overlooked is if a child will be able to continue homeschooling if one or both parents pass away. For me personally, I would not want my child to go back into the school system if something happens to me. What homeschooling resources would the future guardians of your children need to be able to continue homeschooling?
5 Tips to Start Your Homeschooling Estate Plan
- When purchasing life insurance, make sure to have enough to allow for hiring a full time teacher or to allow a surviving spouse to be able to work less in order to assist in homeschooling with a part-time teacher.
- Keep good records of your student’s progress. Some states require academic records and others do not. If your state doesn’t require records it is still a good idea to keep track of what your student has been learning in case someone else needs to step into your role. Things you may want to include:
- Student learning style
- Any struggles or accommodations that are needed
- Techniques that work well for them
- Their favorite subjects/topics
- Write down the curriculum you are using. Once again, if someone needs to step into your role, it will go better if they know what curriculum/activities you have chosen for the school year. I personally use a google spreadsheet to keep my curriculum choices in order.
Side note, this spreadsheet doubles as a mental health tool. I used to have pages and pages of paper notes about each curriculum. I felt like I was drowning in all of the options. However, once I put it all into a nice clean spreadsheet it freed up a ton of mental bandwidth and my adhd was free to focus on something else. So do yourself (and potential future guardians/teachers of your children) a favor and put your curriculum into an easy to read and find spreadsheet or document. - Another important thing to document is why it is important to you that your child remain homeschooled. Perhaps the family or friends you have chosen as guardians for your kid(s) already know. But maybe they don’t or at least maybe not how passionately you feel about it.
Let’s face it, if something happens to your and/or your spouse, the people who step in to take care of your kids will have a lot of work cut out for them. Your kids will need a lot of extra support. So unless you make it unbelievably clear why you want your child to be homeschooled still, it probably won’t happen. It will be a whole lot easier to just sign them up for the closest public school. But you know your kids and what is best for them. So be sure to communicate why it is so important and be sure to provide the homeschooling resources they will need to be successful. - Next, be sure to document your philosophy in homeschooling. Are you an un-schooler? A game schooler? A school at home schooler? A student led schooler? Do you only choose faith based curriculum? Do you only choose a secular based curriculum? How is your day normally planned out? Your week? Your semester? Does your kid participate in any classes outside of the home? If so, make sure to make a list of the teacher’s contact information, pricing, schedule, materials needed, etc.
Thinking about estate planning is not easy. There is a lot of emotion tied up in it. No one wants to think about not being there to see their kids grow up. But being a good parent means trying to prepare for the what ifs in life. It means making a painful situation just a little less painful through careful planning and important conversations with loved ones.
Estate Planning Resources
If you are ready to start an estate plan make sure to do your research to find a good Estate Planning & Administration attorney in your area. For more information on estate planning tips to protect your kids go here.
