If both parents die before a child turns 18, a court decides who raises them. The court will choose someone. Whether the court chooses the person you would have chosen is up to you, and it's up to one paragraph in your will.
The default is not what most parents imagine
Without a written designation, New Jersey courts decide guardianship based on "best interest" — a standard that gives every interested family member equal standing to petition. Grandparents on both sides, siblings, sometimes aunts and uncles. The hearing is contested. The child waits.
What a guardian designation does
A guardian designation in your will tells the court who you chose and why. It is not absolutely binding — the court still has to find the appointment is in the child's best interest — but in practice, a thoughtful written designation is followed in almost every case.
Choosing well
Most parents start with "my sister" or "my best friend" and stop there. The harder work is the second-best choice (in case the first cannot serve), the financial guardian (often a different person than the personal guardian), and the written letter that explains why — values, religious considerations, special-needs planning, the child's own voice if they are old enough.
What we do
We walk through the guardian conversation in the first or second meeting of any estate plan involving minor children. It is the section clients put off and the section that matters most. We don't let it slip.