Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:01:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2015 22:00:09 GMT
I have legal and physical custody of my 15 yr old. Dad is pretty much absent from his life - been that way for the last 2-3 years. I need to update my will and in there I wanted to appoint my husband (DS step dad) as guardian if I were to die.
Do you think that would hold up in court or do you think the a$$ hat "dad" would get custody?
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AnotherPea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,970 
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Post by AnotherPea on Mar 10, 2015 22:02:43 GMT
I can't imagine how his stepfather would get custody. I imagine you would have to get the father's rights terminated for that to happen.
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Post by eebud on Mar 10, 2015 22:09:27 GMT
I'm not a legal pea but I sure wouldn't count on that happening unless his biofather was ok with it. My brother had full custodianship of his two boys. Their mother had supervised visitation. He knew that if anything happened to him that she would have custody and there wasn't much he could do about it even though he was able to get full custody and she had supervised visitation from the time they split. What he was able to control was to make sure that she didn't have access to any money the kids would inherit. I am the one who will oversee all of that.
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Post by bc2ca on Mar 10, 2015 22:12:13 GMT
I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think you can just name your current husband as guardian. He would have to go to court to be declared the legal guardian and the bio dad could challenge. The courts would look at the whole picture and involvement of the bio dad and I'd expect them to take input from the minor before making a decision.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:01:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2015 22:17:47 GMT
okay - that all makes sense.
I know you can name a guardian if you and your spouse die together but I wasn't sure how it all works when there is still a technical parent alive.
Thanks
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Post by ohiodianna on Mar 10, 2015 22:28:08 GMT
I work as a paralegal but not in general law.
However, I had this situation happen to a friend. The father had been absent of the child's life the majority of his life. Boy was 14. Mother was killed in a car accident. She had given guardianship to her brother. The father comes back and the child is returned to the biological father.
Was very sad. However, they were told because he was the biological father his rights held and they would lose in court. They did not spend the fortune to fight it. They really did not even have rights of visitation and were afraid if they went to court and lost the father would not allow them to see the child at all.
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SuPeaNatural
Full Member
AUSTRALIA
Posts: 424
Jun 27, 2014 8:49:11 GMT
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Post by SuPeaNatural on Mar 11, 2015 2:06:46 GMT
These stories are so unfortunate, there must be so many sad kids and would be guardians out there. Here in Australia, at least in my state, when a child gets to a certain age (I think it's about 13 or 14) they get a say in where they live. Not full say of course, the judge still has to weigh things up, but they take the wishes and thoughts of the child into account. It may not always go the way the child wants, but at least they're heard.
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