Single parent and making a will

linpoo · 27-05-2019 11:57pm #1

Is there a need for a single parent to make a will to state who should care for their child should the worst happen?

Or is it enough to write it down somewhere and let the person know you are naming them?

I'm only young-ish but it worries me if anything happened to me that his "dad" would get him.

shesty · 28-05-2019 7:14am

If that is your worry, then make a will.That way it can't be contested.You could write it down and sign it with a witness signature (preferably not family, I would say) and date it, but a will might be more ironclad.
I am married and making a will is something we have been talking about lately.

ec18 · 28-05-2019 7:19am

This is probably for the legal discussion forum but I wonder what would happen if you named someone but then if the will needed to be invoked they had forgotten or were unable from an economic or best interests of child didn't want to take on the responsibility. Is their the power in a will to force an issue like that?

One eyed Jack · 28-05-2019 7:29am

linpoo wrote: »

Is there a need for a single parent to make a will to state who should care for their child should the worst happen?

Or is it enough to write it down somewhere and let the person know you are naming them?

I'm only young-ish but it worries me if anything happened to me that his "dad" would get him.

You don’t mention whether or not the father is also already a legal guardian of the child, but it’s important for you to make a will either way so that in the event of your death, you have already nominated another legal guardian -

Guardians and wills

It's very important if you are the guardian of a child (especially if you are a mother and sole guardian) that you make a will, appointing a guardian to act on your behalf in the event of your death. It's strongly advised that you talk this over with someone who could act as guardian and that he/she gives his/her consent to being named in your will as testamentary guardian.

The child's surviving guardian (if there is one) will then act jointly with the new guardian.

FishOnABike · 28-05-2019 7:42am

What worries do you have that his "dad" would get him? Does his dad have legal guardianship at the moment?

You don't give much detail but much could depend on circumstances, whether his father has legal guardianship, if the conditions for granting legal guardianship are met, if he is likely to seek legal guardianship and /or custody, the contact his dad currently has with him, whether there is other family who might seek guardianship and /or custody.

Children are not possessions to be given away in a will. Family law can be complex and contentious. It might be worth making an appointment to speak to someone at a FLAC clinic who is experienced in family law to give you some advice on your circumstances.

SusanC10 · 28-05-2019 7:56am

Make a Will. It's not a huge expense and the Solicitor can give you advice on what will happen if you die based on your own set of personal circumstances.

linpoo · 28-05-2019 9:15am

No the father doesn't have guardianship. He has only seeing him a handful of times in his almost 2 years, his choice to not see him much.

Thanks will get one done with a solicitor, stop me worrying if nothing else.

jlm29 · 28-05-2019 12:15pm

linpoo wrote: »

No the father doesn't have guardianship. He has only seeing him a handful of times in his almost 2 years, his choice to not see him much.

Thanks will get one done with a solicitor, stop me worrying if nothing else.

This isn’t what you asked, but I’ll throw it in anyhow. Do you have life insurance? I made sure to take out a policy when I had a child, if anything happened to me, I wouldn’t want their opportunities limited as a result

AulWan · 09-06-2019 7:10pm

You can make a will naming someone as a Testamentary Guardian in the event of your death, but that does not make that person's guardianship automatic or anywhere near iron-clad. It just gives them a voice to act on your child's behalf and they would still have to apply to court to have their guardianship "rubber stamped".

The child's biological father can of course contest this, and apply for guardianship and custody themselves. The court will then decide on the basis of what the believe is in the child's best interest, but I'm sorry to tell you its most likely a biological parent will get custody over someone else, if they seek it, regardless of your Will. For the biological parent to be denied custody it would have to shown they were unfit to parent.

Milly33 · 11-06-2019 6:40pm

Id say go get one done and appoint a guardian (of course ask them first) and have a executor also.. Now i have a husband but in my eyes we are a young couple and we decided we just wanted to a will set in place just incase anything happened to either of us and also we didnt have the little one christened so didnt want any of that crap going on. We did appoint guardians and wanted to make sure it was noted.

We paid 150 for a standard enough Will to be done up, and found the chap we went to great full of information..

This is it · 13-06-2019 3:41pm

I presume if this was contested it would make no odds what was in a will, the courts would decide what is best for the child?

Single parent and making a will

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