Unmarried separated parents - guardian/will question

[Castlecould]

Hi
Myself and my partner are separated. 2 children aged 17 and 11 who have not and do not wish to have contact with their father.
If anything happens to me I want to be sure that the youngest child will not be forced to live with her father.
As my eldest is nearly 18, can I appoint him as her legal guardian should anything happen to me? Do I need to put this in a will or does a letter with my wishes suffice? I am in Scotland.
Thanks!

My ds dad has died and I had to sort guardianship for him but was told that at the age of 16 he is legally an adult ( Scotland) and at that age guardianship is no longer an issue although I wouldn’t want him left to his own devices at 16. I’d get proper legal advice

Assuming Scottish law is the same as English the appointment of a guardian in a will can only take effect if there is no one living with PR at the day of your death. You can appoint an 18 yr old and being family is no bar, but if the father has PR it won’t take effect. However given the ages in the event of your sudden death no one is going to allow him to come and take the 11yr old without a court order, and if you die in a situation where you have time to prepare there are applications you can make to the court .

This all assumes Scottish law will be the same as English. It is different but I suspect not to the extent that you would be denied an effective remedy.