Naming guardians for your children

A guardian takes on parental responsibility for your children under 18 if there is no parent left who can care for them. They decide where the children live, where they go to school and how they are brought up.

Nobody has the automatic right to step in. Family members may need to apply to court, social services can become involved while that is sorted out, and there is a real chance the children end up somewhere you would not have chosen. Naming a guardian in your Will avoids all of that in a single sentence.

• Someone the children already know and feel safe with.
• A household with the room, the health and the energy to take it on.
• People who share roughly your values on schooling, faith and daily life.
• Think practically about where they live and what a move would mean for school and friends.
• A couple can be named together, and you can say what should happen if they later separate.

Ask them before you write it down. It is a big thing to be handed without warning.

Usually only when no parent with parental responsibility survives. If the other parent has parental responsibility and is still alive, they normally continue to care for the children, even where you have separated.

Guardianship and money are separate questions. Raising a child costs a great deal, so most parents also set aside funds and say at what age the children should receive them. Without instructions, a child's share is held until they turn 18 and handed over in full on their birthday, which is young for a sizeable sum. A trust in your Will lets you choose a later age, name who manages the money and allow it to be used for school fees, clothes and holidays in the meantime.

A Will with a trust for children is priced as a Complex or Trust Will. You can see the full price list before you decide anything.

People move, families change and children grow up. Have a quick look at your choice every few years, or whenever something significant changes, and update the Will if it no longer feels right.