Bruce Cameron was selected as a Legal Rebel by the American Bar Association. The ABA’s Legal Rebel program recognizes lawyers that are committed to innovation in their practice. Only 10 lawyers were honored with this award by the ABA in 2010.

Legal Rebel Manifesto

I am a proud member of America’s essential profession. Without lawyers and the rule of law, a free, fair and open society is not sustainable.

I recognize that the legal profession’s traditions – the world’s most respected legal education system, most successful law firms and fairest court system – were once radical innovations.

In this time of economic crisis, I am committed to improving those institutions and creating innovation in the practice of law. I will question and, when appropriate, change the status quo. And I will use technology to serve my clients and society.

I’ll help remake the profession I hold dear so it can continue to deliver on America’s promise.

I’m an innovator. A maverick. A pathfinder.

I am a Legal Rebel.

Choosing a guardian for your minor children can be the hardest part of any parent’s estate plan. It is not easy to contemplate your own mortality or the idea of someone else, no matter how loving they may be, raising your child. However, a few moments spent thinking about what you value in life and child rearing now can have a tremendous difference in your child’s life should tragedy strike. Here are a few steps to help guide the process of choosing a guardian.

Step 1 – make a list

Your list should contain the names of everyone you know who could be a possible guardian for your children. You’ll know the list is long enough when you can’t stand to put another name on the list. At this point, the only qualification a person needs to be included on your list is: if that person provide a better home for your child than the state foster care system.

Step 2 - define your priorities

Now, think about your values and what your values your ideal guardian would have. Make a list of your top factors and rank them from most important to least important. Your list need not be exhaustive, but it should capture the core of your beliefs. To get you started, here are some factors to consider:

• parenting style
• religious beliefs
• an existing relationship with your child
• education
• maturity
• patience
• marital status
• health
• moral values
• presence of children in the home
• willingness to serve as a guardian
• integrity
• stability

Don’t make the mistake of including financial resources as a factor – it is your responsibility as the parent to provide the financial resources (life insurance, savings accounts, investments) to care for your child. What you want to create is a list of factors that captures the essence of how you would like to see your children raised and the values you wish to impart to them.

Step 3 - narrow your list of candidates

Now, use your list of factors to narrow your list of possible guardians. Consider each person (if you have listed a couple, consider each member of the couple individually) in the light of your list of factors. Ask yourself how would that person score on your measure and narrow your list down to the handful of people that score the highest. Now sort your shortened list by order of priority – who would you want first, second, third, etc. If you list a couple, take a moment to consider what should happen if the couple splits up  or one member dies or is incapacitated (this is why you want to score both members of a couple individually) – will it matter to you which member of the couple cares for your child after the incident, or should your children be cared for by the next person on your list of possible guardians.

Step 4 - see an attorney

Now, take your short list to your attorney and have him draw up the legal documents needed to implement your guardianship plan.

Estate planning runs from doing nothing at all to the elaborate and complex. But, regardless of what type of estate plan you have, there are two legal documents every adult should have. If you are over 18, you should have a Health Care Directive and a Durable Power of Attorney.

Should you ever be hospitalized and are unable to communicate a health care directive allows someone else to speak for you. In a Health Care Directive  you to name a person or persons  to make medical decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself and it allows you to provide instructions on how those decisions should be made. It also gives your health care agent (the person named in the Health Care Directive) authority under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to access your medical records. If you are a parent with a college age child, you will want to get this in place for your child – if you aren’t designated as your child’s agent under HIPAA then the school’s health care department cannot talk to you about your child’s illness.

A Durable Power of Attorney is to your financial and legal matters as the Health Care Directive is to your health care. It allows you to name the person or persons able to make financial and legal decisions for you if you are unable to make them yourself. Again, parents take note – if you have children going off to college being named in a Durable Power of Attorney as your child’s representative will allow you to take over paying the bills, accessing bank accounts, and making legal decisions if your child is in an accident and is unable to do these things for themselves.