Often when people think about making Wills, they associate the legal document as something to set up when approaching retirement age, to start planning what happens to everything they have built up through their lifetime.

However, it is important to note that Wills can carry more uses than just outlining who to leave your house and money to when you die. One of the key areas a Will can make a difference is with naming Guardians for any children/dependants you have who are under 18 when you die.

Too many people assume that because they are in the twenties or thirties and are healthy with a strong, close family, they do not need to even consider who would look after their children if they died. The most common thought is “My mum and dad would obviously look after my kids, I know they would have them”. Unfortunately this might not be the case according to law.

The first thing to bear in mind is that if you died, your Childs other parent who is named on the birth certificate would automatically be considered for the role as the child’s Guardian. That means if you have split up from your child’s father and (even if) the child hasn’t seen their dad for many years, he would have a legal right to Guardianship… NOT as you might assume, your mum and dad who have a close bond with the child (their grandchild).

This is a consideration which means if the other parent (in this example the dad) had a proven drink/ drug problem, had been to prison or was considered a danger to the child in some way, Guardianship may be sought elsewhere (maybe with the child’s grandparents).

This is the law and no matter how many times you say ‘my parents/ friends would not let my child go to their dad’ because you do not get on with them, unless you have proven grounds as to why he can’t have them, he has the right by law.

Even if you are married to a new partner and the child has a step father who they call dad, it is the person who is named on the birth certificate that matters.

Starting to see why a Will might be a good idea? Let’s continue…

If you are still in a relationship/ maintain a good relationship with the child’s parent named on the birth certificate and you both died before your child is 18, the child would be orphaned.

That child may go into the care of social services whilst a court decides who has the right of Guardianship. What you need to remember is that the social services do not know your family and so do not know for certain if handing that child over to your parents automatically is what you would want. Then, when you add into the equation the fact that the child’s other grandparents may wish to seek Guardianship also, it can create a very messy situation.

The best way to resolve any issues is to create a Will and for you to name who you would want to be Guardians for your children if you died, whilst they are under 18. At this stage you could also accompany the Will with a letter explaining your decision and possibly explaining why (without making false/unproven accusations) you would not like the child’s other parent to be their Guardian. This letter then may be used in a court to advice the judge making the decision. Writing it in a Will cannot change the law (to deny the other parent the right to Guardianship) but it could make a difference to further decisions and potentially stop your child being taken into care via social services.

Bottom line, want to keep your children together? Want to do everything you can to ensure the right people are looking after your children if something happened to you…?

MAKE A WILL!