Guardianship...
One of the reasons that parents do not make a will is because of the uncertainty around "Guardianship", guardians are people chosen to look after your offspring (under the age of 18) in the event of your death. Very often when we discuss this with clients they disagree as to who should look after the children, usually both favouring their own parents!
Whilst this may be fine, very often parents are aged, and the question you should be asking yourself is will they be able to deal with the day to day commitments of looking after young children. If you do not have an up to date will then it is likely that the family courts will become involved in the appointment! This could lead to problems after your death, the court may not choose the person or people you would ideally like to look after your children, plus of course the intended guardian/s would not be aware that this is your wish, which ultimately could lead to disputes in the family.
So what is the solution? Simple you just need to appoint suitable guardians in your will, you can also leave a letter of wishes stipulating how you would like the appointed guardians to deal with various issues, for instance schooling, financial decisions etc.
If you would like to discuss this in more detail please call us on 0845 200 2981
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