My partner's son - legal arrangements if she dies

TheBanker

My partner's son is 14. His dad died when he was little, and there are no other living relatives on his mum's side. On his dad's side the only relative they're in contact with is his dad's cousin, and this is limited to the exchange of Christmas and Birthday cards.

My partner and I do not live together, and we are financially independent.

There are currently no formal arrangements in place for her son if she dies. Financically, he would be ok as she owns the house outright, has life insurance, and he has some money held in trust from his dad. But as there are no relatives, his living arrangements would be uncertain.

The question is what does she need to do? I think this is a job for a solicitor, and I want to make sure it's done properly so there are no problems down the line. We will make an appointment, but am I right in thinking that her son's future care is dealt with through her will? Would social services need to be involved if she died, or indeed anyone else?

Obviously he will turn 16 in a couple of years, does this change anything? I assume once he's 18 he's capable of making his own decisions so unless he is considered vulnerable in some way social services wouldn't be involved?

WYSPECIAL

Who does she want to be his guardian if she dies?
If there is no one then he would go into care.

gwynlas

If sha has a terminal illness then she should think about appointing a guardian for her son whether that is you or a friend otherwise he will probably go into foster care. If she does not have a terminal illness the chance of her dying before he reaches adulthood are very small and she could leave him whatever she wishes in her will. I am presumining that this as come about as you are both updating your wills.

Sarahspangles

It’s Children's Services who would be involved. They would probably look for a family or friend foster arrangement initially, if this would enable him to stay in the same school and social group. 

He’ll need money before he’s 18, surely your partner would want him to have the same standard of living and be able to pay for things like school trips and Uni Open Days? And also be learning how to manage his money. So it would be better to plan for that by identifying someone who she would trust, and create a Will that allows a guardian to make arrangements to get him through to adulthood.

Keep_pedalling

She needs to decide who to appoint as guardians and make a will with a guardianship clause in it. This will come into effect if she dies before he reaches 18. She should make an appointment with a local solicitor ASAP to get this put in place. Doing this should minimise or avoid the involvement of SS.

She might also like to consider putting his inheritance in trust should she die after his 18th birthday to prevent him blowing it all before his 21st birthday. 

Savvy_Sue

Especially at that age, the local authority will generally be very happy to accept any arrangements that are handed to them on a plate, but it is worth establishing what she, you and the lad would want. I'd say that avoiding becoming a child in the care system as a teenager is well worthwhile. 

Hoping these discussions are sensible planning rather than anticipating early death! 

pollypenny

I'd say a will with a guardianship clause is a matter of urgency, as is a trust. None of us know what is round the corner. 

Choosing and nominating a guardian that the boy would be happy with important, too. 

smudge56

https://compass.kinship.org.uk/advice-and-information/testamentary-guardianship/
She can appoint a guardian in her will.  

TheBanker

Thanks to everyone who's replied. You have given us a lot to think about.

Financially, the lad won't have to worry, my partner has life insurance, owns her house outright (when the boy's dad died, his life insurance paid off their mortgage). There's also money in trust from his dad. He would be able to fund himself through university, if that's what he chooses to do. 

There's no terminal illness involved, my partner is fit and well.

Long story short, this has come about because he told his mum that he is worried about ending up in care if anything happens to her. She brushed this off with a 'don't be silly, I'm not going anywhere'. A few weeks later he said the same thing to me. At this point I didn't know he'd already spoken to his mum. When I tolf her, I think she realised she needs to make proper arrangements but at the same time she'd rather not think about it.

I don't like the thought of the boy worrying about this. Life's been tough enough for him already.

I think she needs to talk to him. I can help her make a solicitor's appointment but I guess there's not much point until she knows what to tellt he solicitor. 

elsien

The first thing she needs to do is think about who  might be willing and able to take on a 14 year old boy amongst her friends if there is no-one in the family and talk to them about it. Because if they say no then it doesn't really matter what her will says, should it come to it. 

Savvy_Sue

Let's come straight out and ask, OP, would you step up for this lad? Would he want you to? Because knowing he'd have some stability if the worst happened could go some way towards reassuring him.

You don't need to become a parental figure. It's enough to be a stable presence. Clearly he already feels able to talk to you a bit. You'd both be grieving her loss, you work through it together.

His mum might want to find out if there's a particular reason he's got these worries. Maybe there's someone at school in care, maybe something he's seen or heard.