AUTHOR:

Virginia Antipolo-Utt (Atlas Books, 2015)

REVIEWER:

Susan Turnbull, Principal, Personal Legacy Advisors

BOOK LINK:

https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Childs-Guardian-Virginia-Antipolo-Utt/dp/1490841865

REVIEW:

This extremely comprehensive 716 page guidebook was created chapter by chapter over the past 18 years by Seattle estate planning attorney Virginia Antipolo-Utt after the birth of her daughter, in response to the unthinkable: what would happen if I died?

What would need to be in place legally to insure that my daughter would be well taken care of? Who should be her guardian? What practical information would the guardian need to know? How can I communicate the personal values my husband and I would like her to be raised with? What information and reflections on living might I leave for my daughter to read when she is older? Lawyers say it’s precisely these kinds of questions that paralyze parents and keep them from creating a will.

With spaces to write, the book gives parents room to ponder and if they wish, to record, all that information. In my experience with workbook-style books like this, there can be a lot of contemplative and conversational value in considering all the questions and issues, even if you don’t fill in all the answers – and given the volume of questions in this book, many areas would likely be left blank. Estate planning attorneys looking for strategies to help parents move through mental roadblocks might also find Letters to my Children’s Guardian a useful resource.

The upside of this book is that it equips parents to address all the issues they are confronted with in choosing a guardian, and in a manner that is very personal. The author has lived the journey herself. The downside is that all this comprehension makes for a potentially overwhelming book. A note for Jewish parents: the book has a decidedly Christian slant.

For more information contact Virginia Antipolo-Utt directly: [email protected].