Guardian will raise your children and administer their trust.

If you have children who are minors, you should name a guardian for them in your will. The guardian is the person you want to take responsibility for raising and caring for your children.

If you're married, your spouse will become the guardian for the children of your marriage. If you're divorced and your former spouse is still living, he or she will usually obtain full custody of your mutual children, unless he or she has been found unfit and had parental rights terminated. Even so, your will should name an alternate guardian who will serve if your spouse or ex-spouse dies at the same time you do, or shortly thereafter.

The person you choose to serve as guardian may also be the person you want to serve as trustee for your children's support trust. By giving the same person control over your children's physical custody and management responsibility for their property, you can eliminate the possibility of a conflict in the decisions made about your children's education, health and well-being.

On the other hand, if you are concerned about the way an ex-spouse might handle the property and money you leave for your children, it may be best to name someone else to serve as trustee. In this way, you protect the value of your estate and help ensure that it goes to the children and not into the pocket of your ex-spouse. While your children could challenge a parent's mishandling of the trust, it may not be worthwhile for them to do so if the money's gone and there are no other assets from which they can collect any losses.

Whomever you choose to serve as guardian will be subject to approval by the court. Generally, a person will be qualified to serve as guardian if he or she is a legal adult and has the ability and willingness to care for your children.

Most people choose close friends or family members who already have a relationship with the children to serve as guardians. Some people name the children's grandparents to serve as guardian, but if you are considering doing so, remember that your children will need care for years to come; if the grandparents are already fairly old, they may not want to take on the responsibility of raising their grandchildren during the remaining years of their lives.

If your children are old enough to understand the concept, you may want to consider their wishes as well in naming a guardian. In any case, you'll want to obtain the advance permission of anyone you want to name as guardian.