Write a will today- trustworthy? Is the advice they've told my partner true?.

swampduck

I think it's just a practical issue - I had this when my kids were little and we were preparing to write a will.
If you want peace of mind should anything happen to you or your other half - you can say who will have guardianship (with their agreement of course) of any children you may have.
This gets rid of the worry that your children may be taken into care should you have an unexpected demise!!

Swampy

daska

swampduck wrote: »

I think it's just a practical issue - I had this when my kids were little and we were preparing to write a will.
If you want peace of mind should anything happen to you or your other half - you can say who will have guardianship (with their agreement of course) of any children you may have.
This gets rid of the worry that your children may be taken into care should you have an unexpected demise!!

Swampy

AFIAK you can't say who will care for the child if both parents die, you can express a preference but SS will be involved in the final decision. If one parent survives then it will be assumed that they will parent.

securityguy

According to the will person our baby will be taken away from my family or his own for a few months whilst social services check backgrounds and decide who should have custody. That is unless i make a will myself stating my wishes.

That's simply scaremongering nonsense. You can appoint guardians in your will, but it doesn't override the concerns, or lack of concern, of social services. If the child is in an environment which does not worry social services, then the lack of paperwork is not grounds to take them into care. If the child is in an environment which does worry social services, then having a piece of paper from the parents (or, indeed, _being_ the parents) is not enough to stop them taking matters further.

They would certainly not take a child into care who was living with their deceased parent's family, or their deceased parent's partner, simply because of that fact, paper or no paper. There are concerns about private fostering arrangements, and social services would perhaps take some interest (more so if any of the parties involved had previously been of interest to them), but the bald statement made to you is just scaremongering.

However, if you have children, especially with someone you're not married to, a will is a very good idea, as is appointing guardians. Just not for this reason.

C_Mababejive

Did you say you are moving into a house which is owned by the father of your child?

mountainofdebt

In fairness I seem to remember a work colleague saying that if her daughter, who was a single mum, died then unless she made her wishes known then the grandchild would be made a ward of court until guardianship could be established.


This was a couple of years ago but surely the dad will be named on the birth certificate ?

Pollycat

Mojisola wrote: »

Considering they say this in the T&C, I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole! -

2.2 The functionality and information supplied for your use in generating your Legal Document is unable to cover all individual circumstances. Should you be unsure on how such a Legal Document might affect you, we recommend that you obtain legal advice from a lawyer prior to signing the Legal Document. Any Legal Document produced by this site and executed without first obtaining legal advice or doing your own thorough legal research is done so entirely at your own risk, and you accept full responsibility should it prove to be unsuitable to your circumstances. Specialist legal advice should always be sought in relation to any particular circumstances.

That's truly shocking, Mojisola.

What on earth is the point in using this company (and paying them!) with a disclaimer such as that?

Ivy89

I thought the same but my partner is convinced they are trustworthy . For peace of mind though I'm going to write a will with whom I'd want as guardians should anything happen, as I find the company dodgy to say the least. I'm going to do it with a local family solicitors though.

I've just found out it was his mother who brought up The whole dying issue to the will guy, and that the actual question was if I died diring labour (charming!) so I don't know if that changes matters..

zzzLazyDaisy

He is on commission and trying to sell another will.

What he says about the child going into care is utter nonsense. Think about how many single parents there are who have sadly been widowed young and left to raise children. Do you think all those children were taken away from their one remaining parent at a time of loss and grief? The social services have far better things to do!

In any case, while it is a good idea to say who you wish to be 'testamentary guardian' in your will (ie who you want to look after your children in the event of your death) this is not binding if the courts/powers that be take the view that they should be with someone else. For example, say your partner is on the children's birth certificate and has parental responsibility but for some reason you name your own parents as testamentary guardians, the children would not be taken from him against his/their will and given to your parents, no matter what your will says. This would only really be relevant if you were a single parent and the father was dead/not on the scene/unfit or unwilling to take care of the children, or if say you both dies together in a car accident and your child survived.

Please see a solicitor and have your will properly drawn up, it is worth the extra cost, which is probably not much anyway.

Also remember if you subsequently marry you must make new wills as marriage revokes a will. You can have this done before the marriage provided the will expressly states that the will is made 'in contemplation of marriage' and the marriage takes place within one year.

Pollycat

A poorly drawn-up will may generate just as many problems as not having made a will at all.

Mojisola

Ivy89 wrote: »

I've just found out it was his mother who brought up The whole dying issue to the will guy, and that the actual question was if I died diring labour (charming!) so I don't know if that changes matters..

If that happened, your OH would register the baby's birth. He's the child's father and would have parental responsibility and he would make decisions about the child's future.