Your Most Important Asset: Your Children

Your Most Important Asset: Your Children

11th March 2022

When considering putting in place Wills, many people think long and hard about what they want to happen to their property and their money, however, for people who have children who are minors, sometimes the most important reason to do a Will is to appoint trusted people to look after their children if both parents should pass away.  These trusted people are called Guardians. This gives peace of mind to the parents that their children will be properly looked after.

An appointed Guardian has parental responsibility for the child/children. This means that the Guardian can make important decisions about the child’s life in areas such as medical treatment and education. A person who does not have parental responsibility, but who has care of a child, has only a limited legal right to do what is reasonable in all the circumstances to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare.

If both parents of a child die without appointing Guardians in their Wills, only the court can legally appoint a Guardian. If the parents simply agree informally with friends and relatives who will look after the child if they die, nobody will have parental responsibility for the child unless the Court appoints them. This leaves the position unclear and complicated for those left behind at a time when a child’s life has been turned upside down.

Our friendly Private Client Team here at Brindley Twist Tafft & James will make the process simple, straightforward and as effortless as possible, contact us to see how we can help.