guardian of children if I pass away

[Concernedmum25123]

Morbid question but I am a lone parent and have sole parental responsibility for my girls. Father has no contact whatsoever and I wouldn’t want him to be part of their life at all as their are a lot of reasons why but In the event of my death as I have a lot of health issues who would my children go to and where could I get advice on this matter thankyou

So he's not on the birth certificate?
You need to talk to whoever you would want to take care of them and if they agree you can put it in the will. Assuming he's not on the BC it wouldn't be very easy for him to challenge that arrangement. Technically he still could though via a court application that would include a DNA test and then he would be assessed by cafcass etc but how likely is that - would he even be informed if you died?

Not a morbid question, but a very important one and essential to law a will.

I am down as legal guardian in the even two people I know die before their children reach 18, it was a serious consideration for us as a family and we were honoured to be asked, but hope the situation never arises. One friend has a solid reason why the children’s father is out of their lives and all the details are with the solicitors she made her will with.

Not morbid, but very sensible to think about. As pp says above he could very easily fight and win custody of his children but this risk should be reduced by quickly getting a will drafted by a lawyer (rather than doing it yourself I feel in this instance although also entirely possible) that guardianship should be given to a specific individual in the event of your death. Have a chat with the person who you would like to do this - but bear in mind that they can also change their mind - they are not obliged to fulfil this in the actual event. Things can change.
I wish you all the best wishes for your health and commend you for thinking about this. Many don’t. I hope you live long and happily so your DDs don’t have to go to anyone else at all.

I'm a single parent. When I made my will, I included a statement that I wanted care of my ds to be shared between my dsis and my dniece.

My ex is still alive and is on the birth certificate but is unable to provide a home for ds, and is far too selfish to put his son before his own needs. The wording used was something like "In the event of ex being unable or unwilling to provide a home for ds, he shall be placed in the care of "

Thankfully ds is 17 now so I only need to survive another year before he'll be entitled to live independently, though dsis/dniece would still take him in until he's ready to go it alone.

Once you have the agreement of the person you nominate, talk to a solicitor. You can also set it up that the carer would receive an amount a year to cover your child's costs.

Very sensible thing to think about. We have named people in our Will (check with them first!!).

We’re on the other side of this - we’re named in BIL’s will as taking care of his kids should he die (he’s a single dad).

It’s so so important to get right. Definitely use a solicitor, and possibly speak to a few to find one you feel comfortable with.

I would also suggest putting any inheritance into a discretionary trust until they are in their mid 20's, I made it 26 largely because the older of my brothers was joint executor and it mirrored what was in his will