My wife and I created wills a couple of years ago with the standard "If I die she gets everything, if she dies I get everything". We also named one of her brothers and his wife as the guardian of our five kids if we should both die. Between us we've got probably a million or so in life insurance and right now all the policies name each of us as the primary and all the kids equally as secondary beneficiaries.
So, if we both die in a car accident tomorrow, obviously my 9-year old will not be getting a check for $200,000. I've heard that its a good idea to setup a trust that would be created on your death to handle this money (plus any other assets like my 401k, etc.). While we trust my brother-in-law and his wife to care for our kids I also don't want to make them the beneficiaries directly.
What would happen with all of this if we did both die? Would the courts setup a trust or would they hand the money over to the guardians directly? Would it get deposited into joint accounts with their name and the guardians name on it?
A million dollars or so would certainly be able to generate enough income to help provide any additional support (food, clothing, possibly a larger house or vehicle if necessary) until they hit 18, plus be able to provide for college and still have plenty left over to distribute to them when they're older.
Has anyone setup something like this? If so, how much did it cost and how did you find an attorney to help draft it. Would it be wise to setup the trustee as someone other than the guardian, such as my father-in-law?