Wills and child custody

[Sheets Tabuer]

Talking tonight to a friend has got me thinking about provision in the event I'm run over by a bus, I appreciate some of this should be in the law section but there is a financial element to it.

I have sole custody of my child, her mother is not allowed to see her unsupervised.

She is the sole beneficiary in my will amounting to quite a sum, hopefully well invested should see her in good stead for life.

Now the horrific realisation that if anything would happen to me it is more than likely the authorities would place her back with her mother "with support" giving her control of both my child and finances which would be a disaster.

I'm wondering how best to protect her from that scenario, can you leave a child to someone? I have a partner but we are unmarried, could she keep her? is a trust the best thing for my assets? Is there another way to ringfence it?

Thanks for reading.

[C69]

I've no idea about who would look after your child in the event of your death.

Regarding your assets, my understanding is that the beneficiary of a will can't receive their entitlement before they become 18. Until then it's held in a trust on their behalf. You can influence how it's invested by the trust via a letter of wishes.

Therefore, your assets wouldn't be controlled by the child's mother. You could of course make the child's mother a trustee, but I suspect that's unlikely!

This is a good summary: https://m.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/103...

I'd suggest getting proper legal advice so that what you want to happen would actually happen after you're gone.