Particularly with young first-time home buyers, I like to ask, “What are your plans if something should happen to both of you?”

Usually I get a pause and slightly blank look.

“So, who gets the new house and the kids?  Do you have wills?”

Too often the answer is, “We don’t.  We know we need to get that done.”

The closing attornies I usually introduce clients to in Cary or Raleigh also can help them with that service.  And I defer to the attorney to explain that when parents pass away intestate, the kids become wards of the State of North Carolina.  Without a will in place, the parents should recognize that someone they may not have chosen may become guardian of their lovely kids.

The final piece of control a parent should desire is to know that if their children are tragically orphaned, they will be raised in a loving and stable home, one that is compatible with the parents dreams and philosophies.