You just had a baby.Who raises them if you can’t?

The one decision only you can make

If something happened to both parents while a child is young, someone has to raise that child. If you have written down who that someone should be, your choice carries real weight. If you haven’t, a Kentucky court decides — weighing relatives and other willing adults, doing its best for a child it has never met. The court looks at what the law tells it to consider; it does not know what you would have wanted unless you’ve said so.

Naming a guardian is the one piece of this that you should not put off. Everything else on this page can wait a few weeks if it has to. This one shouldn’t.

What Kentucky parents in your situation typically start with

Name a guardian for your child.

In Kentucky, the way a parent names a guardian is through their will — the last surviving parent of a minor may nominate the person they want to raise their child. You name a primary guardian and an alternate, and you can record a short note about why, for the court to consider. The nomination is given significant weight, but the final appointment is still made by the court, in the child’s best interest.

Talk to the person first. A guardian nomination is a serious ask. The people you name should know they’ve been named, and should be willing.

Write a first will.

The guardian nomination lives inside your will, so for most new parents the will is the natural next step. It does two jobs at once: it carries the guardian clause for your children, and it decides who inherits what — instead of leaving both to Kentucky’s default rules. A first will doesn’t need to be complicated. You name who manages your estate, who would raise your children, and who inherits.

Without a will, Kentucky’s default rules decide for you. When there’s no will, the state’s rules of descent and distribution govern who inherits — and for most young families, the default does not match what they’d have chosen.

Add a power of attorney for yourself.

A will speaks only after you’re gone. A power of attorney covers the other gap new parents rarely think about: what if you’re alive but, for a stretch, can’t handle things yourself — a serious illness, an accident, time in the hospital? A Kentucky statutory power of attorney lets someone you trust pay the mortgage, keep the bills current, and manage money on your behalf while you recover, so your family isn’t locked out of your own accounts when they need them most.

When to call a Kentucky attorney

A Kentucky attorney is appropriate when: you and your child’s other parent aren’t married and want to be clear about parental rights; your child has a disability and an inheritance needs to be structured to preserve benefits; you want to set money aside in a trust rather than hand it over at eighteen; there’s a blended family or a prior relationship to account for; or you simply want someone to make sure the guardian nomination and the will fit together and are executed correctly under Kentucky law.