Protect Your Children’s Future
Video Transcribed: So what happens to your kids if the worst happens and you pass on while they’re still minors? My name is Brian L. Jackson. I am a Tulsa fathers’ rights lawyer here with Dads.Law.
I kind of want to talk about a little bit of a somber subject today, which is what happens to your kids if you pass. And I’m going to take this from the standpoint of assuming you are custodial. In other words, you have either joint legal custody or sole legal custody and you have the kids a significant amount of the time. So the short answer is if the other parent survives you, that is that she’s still alive, and she is otherwise fit, then she’ll get the kids. Because she has parental rights and under both state and federal law, she’s entitled to get full custody of those kids. And that doesn’t matter what you put in your will, just so you guys know this. She will get the kids.
Now, if the children’s mother is unfit or otherwise unavailable, either she’s pre-deceased you, or there’s some other scenario where she’s not available, you can name a guardian in your will and that person you name would take precedence over anyone else who might come along, assuming they’re available, willing to take guardianship and otherwise fit. Without that, there is an order of precedence under Title 43 regarding who is to consider. Some examples would be next of kin, the person who actually has care of the child on a routine basis. Other blood relations could potentially assume guardianship of your child.
One thing to keep in mind if you are concerned about this, and I think anyone with minor children should at least give it a passing thought, is that this is a good reason to have a will and in your will nominate a guardian. Now that will not override your ex’s rights as a parent, and I want to be very, very clear about that. It will not, not, not override your rights if they’re fit. But at least if that other person is unfit or otherwise unavailable, there’s somebody that is named that you can rely on. And if you’re going to name the person you probably want to tell them and make sure they’re cool with it, that can step into the breach and take your kids so they don’t wind up getting potentially bounced around to other families or in the foster care system.
If you have any questions about that, you want help with that, one place you can get help from an family law attorney in Tulsa, Oklahoma is at Dads.Law, where fathers are not disposable.
