Do you have children under the age of 18? If so, have you ever thought about what will happen to them when you pass away and who will take care of them? Whilst this is something that no one likes to think about, it is important not to bury your head in the sand.
As a parent, it is one of your utmost responsibilities to ensure that your children are well taken care of after your death and are in safe hands. In this article, Davisons Law discusses how appointing a guardian within your Will is one of the best ways to ensure this.
So, what would happen to my children if I died without a Will?
This ultimately depends on the circumstances. Largely, there are two scenarios:
A) If you die, but there is a surviving parent that has parental responsibility.
What is parental responsibility:
- If the parents of a child are married at the time of the child’s birth, they will both have parental responsibility. If not, only the mother will have parental responsibility.
- A father will obtain parental responsibility if the parents do marry or if he is named on the child’s birth certificate (for children born after 1 December 2003) or under a court order.
- Adoptive parents have parental responsibility.
If you die, but there is a surviving parent that has parental responsibility, this parent will become responsible for your children. This is the case even if that parent does not have a relationship with your children. This is no doubt a worry, as an absent parent may ultimately become responsible for taking of your children when you die.
B) If you die and there is no other surviving parent or anyone with parental responsibility
If you die and there is no surviving parent or no one with parental responsibility, your children will be regarded as “children in need” pursuant to the Children Act. The Children’s Services will have to get involved and will place your children where they deem appropriate i.e. with relatives or even into care.
This could mean that your children end up with someone that you would not have liked to be responsible for them. The possibility of your children being taken into care will inevitably cause a lot of hardship and upset at an already difficult time.
So, what if I leave a Will?
Even if you think you do not have enough assets to justify setting up a Will, if you have children, it is crucial to make one so that you have control over who will take care of them when you pass away so that you can be sure that they are raised in a loving and caring environment.
If there is a surviving parent that has parental responsibility, but they are absent or not involved in your children’s lives, you can appoint a guardian in your Will so that when you die, they have standing to apply to the court for a Child Arrangements Order after your death. This will state with whom a child is to live.
If you would like to discuss putting in place a Will, please contact Simran Bains on 0121 824 9524 or s.bains@davisons.law.
