Are godparents automatically legal guardians?

[drtachyon]

I went to our local (Anglican) church today to ask to the vicar about getting DS baptised. During conversation, he said that the godparents are also legal guardians if DH & I should die.

I thought that being a godparent, and being a legal guardian, were two separate things

Am I right? Or is the vicar?

DH & I were thinking of asking DSIL to be one of the godparents, but for a variety of reasons I won't go into, I have very serious reservations about her suitability as a legal guardian for DS. So I'm wondering if we'll have to rethink asking her to be a godparent.

I was always under the impression that a god parent was to give the child 'spiritual guidance'... I didn't think it meant to be the childs legal guardian... thats just my thoughts though

That's what I thought too, Magicmayhem, but now the vicar's left me all confused!

No, Godparents are not automatically legal guardians. You need to appoint a legal guardian for your child. The two are entirely separate things, although, you are entitled to appoint a Godparent as a legal guardian if you wish.

The vicar doesn't know the law.

hiddenhome is right, and the vicar is a bit of an idiot. If you don't appoint a legal guardian in your will, then there is none, and if you and DH both die, and a court would decide where your children live.

Your vicar is talking crap.

I would let your vicar know he's wrong too - its so important for parents to appoint proper legal guardians not just assume godparents can do it! No court would allow orphaned children to live with godparents without the backing of a will.

depends on where you are.
in germany they are!

We're in the UK, MousyMouse.

Thanks for all the replies - DH has since checked the CoE website, which also confirms this.

I think I need to let the vicar know he's wrong, if he continues telling people this it could cause unnecessary trouble down the line if a child is unfortunately orphaned.

Update - I e-mailed the vicar to ask a question about the baptism application form. I thought I'd wait till I saw him face to face to mention the guardian thing, in case he misread the tone of the e-mail.

He's e-mailed back and after answering the question, said here's a link to the CoE baptism page - oh, and by the way, he'd read the page and it turns out godparents aren't legal guardians after all!

So he's educated himself without me having to point out his mistake