What would happen to your kids if you ...

Page B: Courtney does not call the police.

You and your spouse have been thorough. When Carlos was born, you prepared a comprehensive Kids Protection Plan (www.KidsProtectionPlan.com), which provides instructions to your children’s babysitters, daycare providers, teachers, and school administrators detailing the people to call in the event of an emergency. By providing these instructions, Carlos and Sara’s caretakers (including Courtney) know not to call the police until your children are safely in the hands of someone who has clear authority to care for them in the event of your absence.

The first names on the list are your neighbors, Gustavo and Patricia Garcia. Patsy and Gus have two children who are friends with Carlos and Sara. In fact, your children often have sleepovers with the Garcia’s children, Travis and Sherry.

Although the Garcias are at the park, Courtney has their cell phone number, which you posted on the refrigerator when Courtney was hired. They return home as soon as Courtney calls them. The Garcias know your unexplained tardiness means something is wrong, and because you prepared, they know they need to take care of your children until you or your spouse are located.

Because you and your spouse were so prepared, Patsy has a copy of the legal document you signed giving her legal authority to care for your children on a temporary basis in just this type of a situation. With this in hand, she feels confident that your kids will not be taken into foster care when the police arrive.

Together, Courtney and Patsy call the police. The police are relieved to learn that the Garcias have documented legal authority to care for your children. Without such documentation, your children would most likely be taken into the custody of Child Protective Services and placed in a foster home until your spouse could be located.

During traumatic times, children are always better off with familiar friends or family members, rather than strangers, no matter how safe and capable. Your forethought means your children will remain with people you know, love, and trust while the police track down your spouse and investigate your disappearance.

The police call the local hospitals and discover you have died. Your spouse is contacted, but weather has delayed flights out of Paris for 48 hours. In the meantime, your children are cared for by Patsy. They are, of course, devastated and do not completely understand that you will not be coming back. But because they love and trust Patsy and Gus, they have an immediate support system.

When your spouse arrives and takes your children home, they begin the process of grieving.

Your spouse arranges for your funeral, calling on your friends for comfort. Your only living relative, your estranged brother, comes to the funeral with his wife. They sit alone, barely speak to your spouse, and leave without saying a word to your children.

After the funeral, your spouse enlists the help of a child therapist and calls on parishioners and clergymen for support. Eventually, your family begins to heal.

When Sara is seven and Carlos 14, your spouse begins dating again. You would have wanted this, but Carlos feels hurt and abandoned, as though your spouse is betraying your memory. Sara, on the other hand, is slowly forgetting about you. She was barely four when you died, so she has few memories of you.

Have you created a plan to make sure you remain a presence in your children’s lives, even after your death? If so, turn to page C. If not, turn to page D.

Excerpted from “Wear Clean Underwear! A Fast, Fun, Friendly — and Essential — Guide to Legal Planning for Busy Parents” by Alexis Martin Neely. For more info on protecting your kids, visit Neely's Web site at KidsProtectionPlan.com.

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