06/11/2023
20 young children in Israel have suddenly been left 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 through the horrors of the . Last week we explained (link in first comment) the Court’s role in appointing a legal guardian in such cases, but what can 𝒚𝒐𝒖 do to ensure the future of your children in the event that, Heaven forbid, a legal guardian must be chosen for them? As we know too well unfortunately, tragedies can come in all sorts of ways.
Well actually, as I said in the last post, the final decision here really lies in the hands of the Family Court, so it's not actually within the power of the parent to 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 %100 who the guardian would be (not to mention that the person you want to serve as guardian may anyways be unable or unwilling to in the end).
There 𝘪𝘴, however, one simple and straightforward step you can take: state your choice of guardian/s in a legal will.
It's still not entirely simple though...
Below are some key tips to help enhance the probability that the Court will indeed appoint the guardian that you request for your child.
👉Here’s the main point to be aware of: it's not enough to merely state in the will 𝙬𝙝𝙤 you choose as legal guardian–it’s recommended to 𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥.
When the Judges and Social Workers involved seek out a legal guardian, their starting point is to see what the parent of the child wrote in their will.
And a few more important tips:
👉Confirm ahead of time with your preferred guardian that he/she is indeed fully willing & capable of taking on this weighty role.
👉Once you're at it, set up a backup guardian as well–confirm with the person in advance and express it in your will that your wish is for him/her to be the guardian in case the first choice doesn’t work out.
👉By default, the same person chosen to serve as the child's guardian will also be given charge over the child's estate. If you would like to have one person as the general guardian for the child and someone else to be in charge of their estate–express this in the will.
As the current events of the are brutally reminding us, we can't take tomorrow for granted; reaching out to your lawyer to plan these steps for securing your children's future is one of the most significant steps we can take now as responsible parents.
In the next post we’ll dive into a number of valuable do’s & don’ts for writing wills that I’ve gleaned throughout the years.
𝘑𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭–𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸
❓What insight can you share as to important factors that people should keep in mind when choosing a guardian for their children❓
