Guardianship of orphaned children

[ILoveAFullFridge]

How does this work?

We have asked my db took look after our dc should we both die, which he agreed to without hesitation.

But what would actually happen?
What if his circumstances change, or his OH doesn't want to do it?
What if another family member wants to look after them, or the family as a whole disagree?
Is this a purely family arrangement, or does some official organisation get to have a say?
What about the cost of suddenly taking on 3 dc? My db would not have to move house, but my dsis would if she took my dc.

I'm a will writer and this is the one thing which tangles people up and stops them making a will, even though the chances of both parents dying are really very tiny.

What I often recommend is to appoint person A (not their spouse, in case they split up), but to have person B as a default guardian, if A can't or won't act.

Another alternative is to appoint A and B to be joint guardians and to let them agree between themselves as to who the children should actually live with.

So far as finances are concerned, I always include provision for the guardians to take money from the trust fund to pay for the children's maintenance/education/holidays etc. The idea is that the guardians shouldn't be out of pocket. The trustees/executors have discretion to agree to the release of the money, so they should not be the same people as the guardians, ideally.

The trustees have discretion to invest the fund in whatever way benefits the children, so there have been occasions where part of the fund has been used to purchase a house for the children and the guardian, on the basis that the property is held on trust for the benefit of the children until they grow up.