What to consider when choosing a guardian for your children
If you are a parent, you may appoint a guardian for your children in your will. Each state and territory has its own legislation on guardianship, but they all enable parents to appoint a guardian in their will. In Queensland, a guardian appointed in a will is also referred to as a testamentary guardian.
The choice should be a relatively straight forward process provided you have a close family and / or friends in your circle. However, for those parents who are not so lucky it can be a real struggle to choose a testamentary guardian for their children and can even stop them from making a will altogether.
It is far better that you choose someone, even if they do not meet all of your criteria, than potentially leaving it up to strangers to decide what is best for your children. In any case it certainly should not be a roadblock stopping you from making a will.
Some factors to consider when choosing a testamentary guardian:
Familiar faces
A good starting point is to choose someone your children already know and ideally have regular contact with. This could be someone you would normally call on to babysit such as your children’s grandparents or uncles and aunties or close family friends who are already in your children’s lives. This is an important consideration as it would ease the stress on your children, having someone familiar around.
Values and beliefs
In addition to having someone familiar, it should also be someone whose values, world views and beliefs align with yours on the topics that you feel most strongly about. This is important to ensure your core family values carry on even if you are not there.
Guidelines for guardians
Another way to ensure that your family values carry on is to leave written guidelines for your guardians outlining how you wish your children to be brought up. This document should outline what is most important to you and provide guidance for future decision making such as schooling or where the children live.
Guardians’ circumstances
You also need to take into account your guardian’s personal and health circumstances. You should reflect on whether the proposed guardians would be physically and financially able to care for your children. Some of the hurdles can be overcome by careful planning such as making provision for the guardian to live in your home with your children and certainly making provision in your will for the support and maintenance of your children.
Guardians’ acceptance
You should discuss your intention to appoint your guardian or guardians with the proposed guardians and seek their agreement to the appointment. There is little point in appointing someone who is unwilling to take on the role if required.
Substitute Guardian
It is always good to appoint a substitute in case your primary guardian is unable or unwilling to take on the role at the time of your passing.
Review your will regularly
Lastly, remember to review your will regularly to ensure your appointed guardians are still right for the role. Changes in the guardians’ age, health or circumstances might mean that they may no longer be able to look after your children.
What happens if you die without appointing a guardian in your will
If you do not name a testamentary guardian in your will, and there is no surviving parent with parental responsibility, you are leaving it up to the family and possibly the court to appoint guardians, which is less than ideal.
You may think that no one will look after your children the way you do, but appointing a guardian in your will allows you to be part of the decision-making process of who will step into your role, if required.
Read More on:
Guidelines for Guardians
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