What Happens to Your Children If You Die Without a Will?

Emma and David never thought it would happen to them. At 32 and 34, with two children aged 3 and 5, they kept meaning to write a will. They'd even discussed who would raise their children if something happened - Emma's sister, Rachel, seemed the obvious choice. But they never put it in writing.

When both parents died in a motorway accident in 2023, their children became the responsibility of the court. Rachel assumed she'd be appointed guardian immediately, but David's parents also petitioned the court. What Emma and David thought was an obvious decision became a 9-month legal battle between two families who both loved the children deeply.

During that time, the children lived temporarily with Rachel under an interim arrangement, but the uncertainty was devastating. The legal fees exceeded £15,000. And Rachel's authority as guardian remained in question until the court made its final decision.

59% of UK parents don't have a will or have one that's out of date. Here's exactly what happens to your children if you're among them - and how to protect them in 15 minutes, for £49.99.

The Legal Reality: What Actually Happens When Parents Die Without Appointing Guardians

If you die without appointing guardians in your will, your children become wards of the court. This isn't automatic guardianship for grandparents, siblings, or whoever you told about your wishes. It's a formal legal process governed by the Children Act 1989.

Under Section 5 of the Children Act 1989, parents with parental responsibility can appoint guardians in writing. When you don't exercise this right, the court must decide who raises your children based on their assessment of each case. No assumptions. No shortcuts.

According to Family Court Statistics for July to September 2024, care and supervision cases (which include guardianship matters) take an average of 41 weeks from application to final order. That's nearly 10 months of uncertainty while your children wait to find out who will raise them.

During those 41 weeks, your children may live with family members under interim arrangements - but that placement isn't guaranteed to become permanent. If no suitable family or friends are immediately available, social services may place children in temporary foster care while the court process unfolds.

The court's only concern is your child's welfare. They don't know that your sister has been at every birthday party, that your children call your parents every Sunday, or that your best friend promised to raise them like her own. Without your written wishes, the court starts from scratch.

Here's what parental responsibility actually means: the legal right to make decisions about your child's upbringing, education, medical care, and where they live. Mothers automatically have it from birth. Married fathers have it automatically. Unmarried fathers have it only if they're named on the birth certificate (for children born after December 1, 2003) or have obtained it through legal agreement or court order.

If both parents with parental responsibility die without appointing guardians, no one has automatic authority over your children. Not grandparents. Not siblings. Not your unmarried partner who's helped raise them for years.

The Court Decision Process: How Judges Determine Your Children's Guardian

When you haven't appointed guardians, family members who want to raise your children must apply to the family court. Multiple relatives often apply, each believing they're the best choice. The court then has to decide.

Judges assess applications based on the welfare checklist in the Children Act 1989. They consider: your child's wishes (age-appropriate), their emotional and educational needs, their physical needs, their age, sex, and background, any harm they've suffered or might suffer, and the capability of each proposed guardian.

CAFCASS (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) gets involved. They conduct independent assessments, visiting potential guardians' homes, interviewing family members, and sometimes speaking with the children themselves. They compile reports for the judge - reports about people who may have known your children their entire lives but now must prove their suitability to strangers.

The timeline stretches across months. After someone applies for guardianship, there's a notice period - potentially 3 months for special guardianship orders. First hearings typically occur 4-6 weeks after application. If multiple family members have applied, or if anyone disputes the arrangements, the case moves to dispute resolution appointments and eventually a final hearing.

When Sarah's parents died in 2022, three family members applied to be guardians: her maternal grandmother, her paternal aunt, and her adult half-brother. The court process took 11 months. The family spent over £20,000 in legal fees. Sarah, at 14, had to be interviewed twice about her preferences - a traumatic experience during an already devastating time.

Legal costs escalate quickly in contested guardianship cases. Court application fees start at £263, but solicitor fees reach £15,000 or more when families disagree. These fees come from the estate your children should inherit or from family members' own pockets.

Your children experience all of this during the worst time of their lives. They've lost their parents. Now they're watching their family fight over them in court.

All of this could be avoided with a guardian appointment in your will - a decision that takes 15 minutes and costs £49.99.

What Happens to Children During the Court Process

In the immediate aftermath of parents' deaths, social services conduct an assessment. Their priority is placing children somewhere safe while the legal process unfolds.

Where possible, children are placed with family or friends. But this isn't a permanent arrangement - it's a temporary placement pending the court's decision. Anyone caring for a child for 28 days or more must notify the local authority, triggering formal assessments and monitoring.

Temporary placements create their own trauma. Children may move between relatives as the court process drags on. They might start at one family member's home, only to move to another when the first placement becomes unsustainable or when court proceedings favor a different guardian.

In the worst-case scenario, when no suitable family or friends are immediately available and willing, children may be placed in temporary foster care while the court decides. 83,630 children were in care in England as of March 2024. While most are in care due to abuse or neglect rather than parental death, the system exists for all situations where children lack parental care.

Foster placements themselves vary. Most children go to approved foster families - 67% of children in care live in foster placements. But 41 weeks is a long time for a temporary arrangement.

Think about the practical reality. Your children have just lost both parents. Now they're living somewhere that might not be their permanent home. They don't know if they'll stay at their current school. They don't know if they'll have to leave their friends, their bedroom, their routine. They're in limbo while courts and adults debate their future.

This uncertainty compounds grief in ways that last for years. Children need stability precisely when everything has fallen apart. Instead, without your appointed guardian, they get bureaucracy and waiting.

A simple guardian appointment in your will provides immediate clarity. Your chosen guardian can take responsibility from day one, no court process required (assuming no disputes). Your children go directly to the person you trust most, in the home you've chosen, with as much stability as possible during an impossible time.

The Unmarried Parents Trap: Why Your Partner Might Not Automatically Become Guardian

If you're unmarried and assume your partner will automatically raise your children if you die, you need to understand parental responsibility law. It's one of the most dangerous assumptions parents make.

Mothers always have parental responsibility from birth. Married fathers have it automatically. But unmarried fathers only have automatic parental responsibility if they're named on the child's birth certificate - and only for children born after December 1, 2003.

This is the law that changed everything. The Adoption and Children Act 2002 came into force on December 1, 2003. For children born before that date, unmarried fathers have no automatic parental responsibility, even if they're on the birth certificate.

If you're an unmarried father not on your child's birth certificate, you have no automatic parental responsibility. No legal rights to make decisions about your child. No automatic guardianship if your partner dies.

James and Sophie lived together for 8 years with two children. James wasn't on either birth certificate - they kept meaning to add him but never got around to it. When Sophie died unexpectedly, James had no automatic right to keep raising his own biological children.

Sophie's parents petitioned for guardianship. James had to apply to the court for a parental responsibility order and fight a legal battle to keep his children. The battle took 7 months and cost £8,000. During that time, James's authority as a parent remained in legal question.

Unmarried fathers without parental responsibility can obtain it through several routes: re-registering the birth with the mother's cooperation, signing a parental responsibility agreement (free, witnessed at a family court), obtaining a court order (£263 application fee), or marrying the child's mother.

But here's the critical point: even if you're an unmarried father with parental responsibility, if your partner appoints a guardian in her will and she has sole parental responsibility, that guardian appointment takes effect when she dies. If you don't have parental responsibility, her appointed guardian becomes your children's legal guardian - not you.

This applies to unmarried partners generally. If you're in a long-term relationship but not married, your partner doesn't automatically have parental responsibility for your children. They have no legal rights if you die, regardless of how long they've helped raise them or how much your children love them.

Fifteen percent of UK children are born to cohabiting unmarried parents. Many of these families assume that their partnership and shared parenting creates legal rights. It doesn't.

Protect your family with two simple actions: ensure both parents are on the birth certificate (or that unmarried fathers have parental responsibility agreements), and appoint guardians in your will. These steps take minutes but prevent years of legal trauma.

Family Conflict: When Multiple Relatives Want Guardianship

Your family loves your children. Your parents, your siblings, your closest friends - they all want what's best. But when you die without appointing guardians, love isn't enough. The court must choose between people who all have genuine, heartfelt reasons why they should raise your children.

This is when families fracture.

The Williams family tragedy shows what can happen. When both parents died, the maternal grandmother (age 68, retired, deeply bonded with the children) and the paternal aunt (age 35, two children of similar ages, stable family) both petitioned for guardianship.

Both were loving, capable options. The grandmother had cared for the children every week since birth, knew their routines, their fears, their favorite stories. The aunt could provide a home with cousins, active parents, and long-term stability. How do you choose?

The court process lasted 10 months. The family stopped speaking. The children, ages 7 and 9, were asked which relative they preferred - a question no child should face. They felt guilt about "choosing" between beloved family members. They felt responsible for the growing rift.

The court eventually appointed the aunt. The grandmother hasn't seen her grandchildren since. The children lost not just their parents but also their grandmother, fractured by a battle that should never have happened.

Common disputes pit maternal grandparents against paternal grandparents, siblings against parents, or nearby relatives against distant ones. Each side has valid arguments. Grandparents offer wisdom and devoted love but may worry about age and energy. Younger siblings offer longevity and active parenting but may already have full households.

Geography becomes contentious. Should children stay near their current school and friends, even if that means a less financially stable guardian? Or should they move to a wealthier area with better opportunities but leave everything familiar behind?

Cultural or religious differences divide families. One side may prioritize religious upbringing while the other takes a secular approach. Mixed-heritage families may disagree about cultural traditions and identity.

Financial concerns complicate emotions. Some relatives desperately want custody but lack resources for additional children. Others are financially comfortable but work long hours or lack the emotional warmth children need.

Children get caught in the middle. They may feel pressure to express preferences, knowing their words will hurt someone they love. They may feel guilty for wanting to stay with the relative they're currently placed with rather than the one fighting hardest in court.

Court decisions may satisfy no one. Judges do their best with impossible choices, but they're deciding based on reports and hearings, not years of knowing the child. They might choose the most stable option even if the child has a closer bond with someone else. They might prioritize education and opportunity even if the child desperately wants to stay near friends and familiar places.

Your written wishes prevent this. Courts give significant weight to deceased parents' stated preferences when deciding guardianship. If you've appointed a guardian, and that person is suitable and willing, courts typically confirm your choice rather than second-guessing it.

You know your family. You know who would provide the best home for your children. You know which relative has the temperament, values, and circumstances to raise your children the way you'd want. Write it down.

How to Appoint Guardians in Your Will (The Solution)

Appointing guardians is simpler than most parents realize. Under Section 5 of the Children Act 1989, you can appoint guardians for your children (under 18) in any written document that is dated and signed. A will is the best and most common method.

Your guardian appointment must be in writing, signed, and dated. That's it. No solicitor approval required. No court process while you're alive. No complex legal language necessary.

The appointment takes effect immediately when the last surviving parent with parental responsibility dies. If you've appointed a guardian, and they're willing and suitable, they gain parental responsibility automatically. No waiting. No court applications (unless someone disputes your choice).

You can appoint joint guardians - typically a married couple who will raise your children together. You can appoint alternative guardians in case your first choice is unable or unwilling when the time comes. You can appoint different guardians for different children if your family situation requires it.

The critical first step happens before you write anything: approach your potential guardians and confirm they're willing and able. This isn't a decision to surprise someone with. Have the conversation. Explain what you're hoping for. Make sure they understand the responsibility and genuinely want to take it on.

When choosing guardians, consider several factors. Do they share your values and parenting approach? Do they have a strong relationship with your children already? Are they at an appropriate age and in good health to raise children for potentially the next 15-20 years? Do they have a stable home environment?

Think about location. Would you prefer your children stay in their current area, keeping the same school and friends? Or is moving to be with the best possible guardian worth the disruption?

Consider financial stability, though remember this differently than you might expect. Guardians aren't financially responsible for your children from their own funds - your children's inheritance and any life insurance you've arranged supports their care. A guardian with less money but more love and time might be better than a wealthy guardian with little emotional availability.

You can separate the roles of guardian (who raises your children) and trustee (who manages their inheritance). Your sister might be the perfect guardian - warm, nurturing, wonderful with children - but terrible with money. Your financially astute brother might be the perfect trustee - he'll invest wisely and ensure funds are available for education and opportunities - but he's work-obsessed and not suited to daily childcare.

WUHLD's will service lets you appoint guardians, alternative guardians, and trustees separately or together, depending on your family's needs. You can include wishes and guidance for your guardians - not legally binding, but helpful context about your hopes for your children's upbringing.

The process takes 15 minutes. You enter your guardian's details, explain their relationship to your children, and name alternatives if your first choice can't serve. You can preview your entire will free before paying anything, so you can see exactly how your guardian appointment will be documented.

Update your guardian appointments when circumstances change. Your first choice might move, divorce, develop health issues, or have significant life changes that make them less suitable. Review your will every 3-5 years and after major life events.

What About Financial Support? Guardianship vs Trusteeship

Many parents assume the person who raises their children must also manage their children's inheritance. These are actually separate roles with different responsibilities.

Guardians handle your children's day-to-day welfare. Where they live, what school they attend, medical decisions, religious upbringing, extracurricular activities, discipline, and general care. Guardians make the thousands of small and large decisions that shape a childhood.

Trustees manage your children's inheritance until they reach the age you specify (typically 18 or older). Trustees invest and protect assets, release funds for your children's benefit, pay for education and opportunities, and ensure the money lasts.

You can appoint the same person as both guardian and trustee. If your sister is both financially responsible and emotionally nurturing, she can handle both roles seamlessly.

But separating the roles often makes more sense. Helen appointed her sister Sarah as guardian - Sarah was warm, nurturing, and brilliant with children. Helen appointed her brother Michael as trustee - he was an accountant, financially astute, and careful with money.

When Helen died, Sarah raised her daughter with love and stability. Michael managed the £400,000 inheritance, releasing funds for private school fees, music lessons, university costs, and a deposit on the daughter's first home. Neither Sarah nor Michael felt burdened beyond their capabilities. Helen's daughter received both emotional care and financial security.

Guardians are not financially responsible for your children's costs from their own money. They're not expected to fund private school or university from their savings. Your children's inheritance, held in trust, covers these expenses. The trustee releases funds as needed.

State support helps too. Guardians can claim Child Benefit (currently £25.60 per week for the first child, £16.95 for additional children) and potentially other benefits depending on circumstances. Your children's inheritance doesn't affect benefit eligibility.

Consider leaving a lump sum to your guardian to help them accommodate your children. They might need a larger home, a bigger vehicle, or modifications to their current house. Build this into your estate planning alongside life insurance.

Life insurance is crucial. If you die young, you might not have accumulated significant assets. Life insurance ensures your guardian has resources to care for your children without financial strain. Calculate costs realistically: food, clothing, school trips, activities, eventually university. Ensure your policy covers these needs.

Your will specifies how trustees should manage and distribute funds. You might direct that trustees pay for education costs immediately, release funds for deposits on homes at age 25, and distribute the remaining inheritance at age 30. You can create trusts that protect your children's inheritance while ensuring they have access to money when they need it.

WUHLD's will service includes guidance for trustees, explaining their legal responsibilities and how to manage inherited assets appropriately. The trustee role comes with legal duties - trustees must act in your children's best interests, invest carefully, and keep proper records.

Separating guardian and trustee roles adds a layer of protection. The trustee provides independent oversight of spending, ensuring your children's inheritance lasts. The guardian focuses on parenting without financial management stress. If your guardian and trustee are different people, they'll naturally communicate about significant expenses, creating a system of checks and balances.

Special Situations: Divorce, Remarriage, and Blended Families

Guardian appointments become more complex when families don't fit the traditional structure. If you're divorced, remarried, or have a blended family, you need to understand how parental responsibility and guardian appointments interact.

When you're divorced, each parent with parental responsibility can appoint guardians in their will. But these appointments only take effect if the child has no surviving parent with parental responsibility. Your ex-spouse's parental responsibility doesn't end just because you've divorced.

This frustrates many divorced parents. They hope their will can prevent their ex-spouse from getting custody if they die. It can't. If your ex has parental responsibility, they automatically become the sole parent if you die, regardless of what your will says. The court won't override this except in extreme cases of abuse, neglect, or demonstrable harm to the child.

Your guardian appointment only becomes relevant if your ex also dies or doesn't have parental responsibility. So while you can't prevent your ex from parenting if you die first, you can specify who should raise your children if you and your ex both die.

Mark and Lisa divorced when their daughter was 6. Mark worried about Lisa's parenting - she was unreliable, frequently changing jobs and homes. He wanted his parents to raise his daughter if he died. But Lisa had parental responsibility. Mark's will couldn't override that.

Instead, Mark's will appointed his parents as guardians "in the event that my daughter has no surviving parent with parental responsibility." If Mark dies while Lisa is alive, Lisa becomes the sole parent. But if both Mark and Lisa die, Mark's parents become guardians rather than Lisa's family.

If you have serious concerns about your ex-spouse's ability to safely parent your children - documented abuse, severe neglect, untreated addiction - your will isn't the solution. Consult a family law solicitor about legal options, which might include supervised contact orders or, in extreme cases, court applications to limit or remove parental responsibility.

Remarriage and step-children create different complications. Step-parents don't automatically have parental responsibility for their step-children. They must legally adopt them or obtain a parental responsibility order from the court.

This means if you die and your new spouse has been raising your children for years, they don't automatically have the right to continue parenting them. Your ex-spouse (if they have parental responsibility) becomes the sole parent, or if there's no other parent, the court decides guardianship.

Appoint your spouse as guardian in your will if you want them to continue raising your children. Even without automatic parental responsibility, your appointed guardian takes on that responsibility when you die (assuming no parent with parental responsibility survives).

Blended families face difficult decisions about guardian appointments. Should the same guardian raise all children - your biological children and your step-children - keeping siblings together? Or should different guardians raise different children based on biological relationships?

There's no universal answer. Some families prioritize keeping children together, believing sibling bonds matter more than biological connections. Others recognize that children might have stronger relationships with different relatives and plan accordingly.

Sarah remarried after her first husband died, blending her two children with her new husband's three children. When planning their wills, Sarah and her husband decided to appoint her sister as guardian for her biological children and his brother as guardian for his biological children, while hoping the families would maintain close contact. They prioritized each child's existing family connections over keeping the blended family together.

Other blended families make different choices, appointing one guardian for all children to maintain their family unit. Consider your children's ages, relationships, and what would genuinely serve them best.

Document your reasoning. While wills don't require explanations, leaving a letter of wishes explaining why you chose particular guardians for particular children helps your family understand your decision and reduces conflict.

Updating Guardian Appointments as Life Changes

Guardian appointments aren't permanent. Life changes, and your will should change with it.

Mark appointed his brother Tom as guardian in 2015 when Tom was 32, single, and devoted to Mark's children. By 2024, Tom had three children of his own, a demanding career, and had moved 200 miles away. When Mark died, Tom honored the appointment but struggled enormously. Five children under one roof, financial strain, resentment from Tom's wife, and Mark's children feeling like burdens.

Regular will reviews could have led Mark to appoint his sister instead, who'd remained child-free and local, eager to raise Mark's children with the time and resources to do it well.

Review your guardian appointments when significant changes occur:

When you have additional children, confirm your appointed guardian is still willing and able to take on more children. Two children is different from four.

When your appointed guardian divorces or has a relationship breakdown, their circumstances have fundamentally changed. Are they still the right choice?

When your guardian develops health issues or ages significantly, their ability to raise children changes. A guardian in their 40s when you write your will might struggle in their 60s when you die. Consider appointing a younger alternative guardian.

When your guardian moves far away, consider whether you want your children uprooted from their school, friends, and community. Distance might make your guardian less suitable than someone local.

When your relationship with your appointed guardian deteriorates, find someone else. Guardian appointments should go to people you trust and respect.

When your children's relationships and preferences change, consider their connections. A baby doesn't have strong opinions about guardians, but a teenager has real relationships and preferences that matter.

When your guardian has significant life changes - financial hardship, additional children straining their resources, career changes reducing their availability - reassess whether they're still the best choice.

When your appointed guardian dies or becomes incapacitated, you must update your will. Your alternative guardian becomes critical.

Update your will by making a new one. A new will automatically revokes previous wills, including guardian appointments. With WUHLD, updating costs the same as creating a new will - £49.99, no subscription or recurring fees. This makes regular updates affordable.

Communicate changes to previous guardians and new guardians. Tell your original guardian you've changed your appointment and why, if appropriate. Confirm with your new guardian that they're willing and prepared.

Review your will every 3-5 years minimum, even if nothing significant has changed. Circumstances shift gradually. A guardian who was perfect five years ago might be stretched thin now. A relative who seemed unsuitable might have matured and stabilized.

Major life events should trigger immediate reviews: births, deaths, marriages, divorces, significant financial changes, house moves, or serious illnesses in the family.

Keep your guardians informed. If you've appointed guardians in your will, make sure they know. Tell them where your will is stored. Give them context about your wishes for your children's upbringing - not legally binding, but helpful guidance.

Your guardian appointments are among the most important decisions in your will. Keep them current. Your children's futures depend on it.

Taking Action Today: How to Protect Your Children Now

Your children need you to make this decision. Not the court. Not your arguing relatives. You.

Without guardians appointed in your will, your children face a 41-week court process, possible temporary foster care, family conflict, and legal fees exceeding £15,000. With guardians appointed, your children go directly to the person you trust most, with clarity and stability when they need it most.

Take these steps today:

1. Have the conversation with potential guardians. Call them today. Meet for coffee this week. Ask if they're willing to raise your children if something happens to you. Discuss your values, your hopes, what your children need.

2. Confirm they understand what's involved. Guardianship isn't occasional babysitting. It's full parenting responsibility for potentially 15-20 years. Make sure they're truly prepared.

3. Choose alternative guardians. Your first choice might be unable or unwilling when needed. Name a second choice who can step in.

4. Decide if guardian and trustee should be the same person. Can one person handle both raising your children and managing their inheritance? Or should you separate the roles?

5. Create your will with WUHLD. The process takes 15 minutes online. You'll appoint guardians, name alternatives, choose trustees, and preview your complete will before paying anything.

6. Tell your family where your will is stored. The best will is useless if no one can find it when needed. Tell your appointed guardians, your executor, and trusted family members where you keep your will.

7. Review every 3 years or after major life events. Guardian appointments aren't permanent. Keep them current as life changes.

Key takeaways:

Without appointed guardians, courts decide who raises your children - a process taking 41 weeks on average
59% of UK parents have no will or an out-of-date one, leaving their children vulnerable
Unmarried fathers may not have automatic parental responsibility, even for their own biological children
Guardian appointments in your will take effect immediately when the last parent dies - no court process needed
You can separate guardian (raises children) from trustee (manages inheritance) roles
Update your will when circumstances change - guardian appointments need regular review

This isn't about thinking about death. It's about protecting the people who matter most. Your children deserve to know who would care for them, where they would live, and who would make decisions about their future.

Start creating your will now with WUHLD - preview your complete will free before paying. Appoint guardians, name alternative guardians, and include guidance for whoever raises your children.

For just £49.99 (versus £650+ for a solicitor), you'll get:

Your complete, legally binding will with guardian appointments
A 12-page Testator Guide explaining how to execute your will properly
A Witness Guide to give to your witnesses
A Complete Asset Inventory document

You can preview your entire will free before paying anything - no credit card required. No subscription. No hidden fees. Just protection for the people you love most.

Preview Your Will Free – No Payment Required

Legal Disclaimer: This article provides general information about guardianship law in England and Wales and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your individual situation, particularly in complex cases involving international elements, special needs children, or contentious family circumstances, please consult a qualified solicitor. WUHLD's online will service is suitable for straightforward UK estates and standard guardianship appointments; complex situations may require professional legal advice.

If you have serious concerns about your ex-spouse's ability to safely parent your children (abuse, neglect, substance issues), contact a family law solicitor immediately. Your will cannot override a living parent's parental responsibility, but legal options may exist including supervised contact or PR removal in extreme cases.

If you're an unmarried father not on your child's birth certificate, you do not have automatic parental responsibility if the mother dies. Contact your local family court about parental responsibility agreements or orders, or speak to a family law solicitor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What happens to my children if I die without a will in the UK?

A: If you die without appointing guardians in a will, your children become the responsibility of the family court under the Children Act 1989. The court must appoint a guardian based on the child's best interests, a process taking an average of 41 weeks. During this time, children may live temporarily with relatives or friends, or in rare cases where no suitable family is available, may be placed in foster care. The court will consider any family members who apply for guardianship and assess each case individually.

Q: Can I choose who looks after my children if I die?

A: Yes. If you have parental responsibility, you can appoint legal guardians for your children (under 18) in your will. This appointment must be in writing, dated, and signed. Your chosen guardian takes on parental responsibility immediately when the last surviving parent with parental responsibility dies, without requiring court approval (assuming no disputes). This is the only way to ensure your preferred person raises your children rather than leaving the decision to a court.

Q: Who has parental responsibility if parents aren't married?

A: Mothers automatically have parental responsibility from birth. For unmarried fathers, parental responsibility is automatic only if they're named on the child's birth certificate for births registered after December 1, 2003. Unmarried fathers not on the birth certificate must obtain parental responsibility through re-registering the birth with the mother's cooperation, signing a parental responsibility agreement (free, witnessed at family court), obtaining a court order (£263), or marrying the child's mother.

Q: Can my partner be the guardian if we're not married?

A: Your unmarried partner can only be appointed guardian if you specify them in your will. They don't automatically have parental responsibility just from living with you and your children, even if you've been together for many years. If your partner is the biological father but not on the birth certificate, they don't automatically become guardian if you die - your will appointment or their parental responsibility status determines this.

Q: Can I stop my ex-partner from getting custody if I die?

A: No. If your ex-partner has parental responsibility, they automatically become the sole parent if you die, regardless of your will. Your guardian appointment only takes effect if your ex also dies or doesn't have parental responsibility. If you have serious concerns about your ex-partner's ability to safely parent your children (abuse, neglect, substance issues), consult a family law solicitor about legal options, which may include supervised contact or, in extreme cases, removal of parental responsibility.

Q: How much does it cost to appoint a guardian?

A: Appointing guardians as part of your will costs £49.99 with WUHLD's online service (one-time fee, no subscription). If you use a traditional solicitor, expect to pay £500-£800 for will writing including guardian appointments. There's no separate legal fee just for the guardian appointment itself - it's part of your will. However, if you die without appointing guardians and family members dispute guardianship, court legal fees can exceed £15,000.

Q: What's the difference between a guardian and a trustee?

A: A guardian is responsible for your child's day-to-day welfare - where they live, their education, medical decisions, and general care. A trustee manages your child's inheritance - the money and assets you leave them - until they reach the age you specify (typically 18). These can be the same person or different people. For example, your sister might be the perfect guardian (loving, great with kids) while your financially-savvy brother is the perfect trustee (manages the inheritance responsibly). WUHLD's will service allows you to appoint guardians and trustees separately or together.

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