When we prepare wills for people with minor children, we recommend that they appoint a guardian or guardians for those children in their wills. The guardian may be somebody different than the executor. A guardian is given legal responsibility for caring for the child in the place of the parents, and is usually a trusted family member or friend who already has a good relationship with the children. You can create a will that contains instructions to your executor to ensure that sufficient income (or capital) from your estate is made available to your children’s guardian to ensure that your children’s needs are met. Guardians are accountable both to the executor of the estate, for the care of the children, and to the Public Guardian and Trustee of British Columbia, with respect to the management of the children’s assets.
