Hypothetically: say I had met Michael Jackson in an airport, we chatted for a bit, he thought I was an all around good dude. Then, because he thought his family was purely rotten, his last will and testament insisted that I become the legal guardian to his kids specifically to prevent them from being raised by his living blood relatives.
I don’t want to be a dad, and don’t want to raise his kids. Would I now be allowed to choose a different guardian (people I thought were all around good folks like Ward and June Cleaver), or would his blood relatives automatically just get custody of the kids against Jackson’s express wishes?
ETA: For that matter, could his will just say: “Anyone but my family!” to prevent his family from getting custody?
I do know that when we did our wills, we thought about putting in a clause specifically excluding my one brother (who might look good on paper, being a lawyer ‘n’ all, but whom we know to be a horrible choice… as in foster care would be better). The lawyer said that wouldn’t be the best way to about it. We named 4 other people as potential guardians instead, which would put him in the position of having to get all of them to step aside before any court would consider him.
I know this situation in a fairly personal way (don’t ask me how but it is in real life). This depends on the state but the courts are almost always going to be biased towards having true relatives raise the kids. A will may assure that a certain person gets your piano but kids are not inanimate objects. There are plenty of exceptions such as the family being a threat to the children in some way. State law and, ultimately, the judge has to decide the case.
That makes sense. Children are not chattel. But does the risk of harm have to be proven? Like say it was Tito Jackson who died and he didn’t want Uncle Wacko Jacko to raise his kids and wrote: “My brother is a drug addict who pimps out children to the Illuminati. Do NOT give him custody of my beloved children.” Would the delcaration have any weight at all without corroborating proof?
I have faced this with Celtling. Her Dad would be a horrible choice, but his Mom would push him to take her because it would give her an excuse to move in with him and generally take over their lives. I have nightmares about this hell becoming her future.
My will contains a carefully written ten-page note to any judge who may be considering her future. I have made it clear who I prefer and exactly why. I have carefully crafted this in the most logical and cool manner possible, without hyperbole. At one point, my lawyer’s advice was to “take out every sentence which ends with an exclamation point.”
I believe it’s actually a Federal law, which gives the judge the right to completely ignore my wishes and hand her over to her Dad.
I eat carefully, wear my seatbelt, and cross only at the lights.
I thought that some pretty horrible child abuse against Michael Jackson by his father was pretty well-documented. In that case, wouldn’t that be a point against him getting custody of his grandchildren?
This is an interesting scenario: the possibility of a millionaire orphan becoming a ward of the state for want of a suitable guardian.
God, I can only imagine. How many times did you have to pitch these “last recriminations” to your attorney before (s)he capitulated and let you put it in?
No. Ironically, family law and probate are the two areas where the Feds get least involved. They won’t take those cases in those areas even where they would otherwise have diversity jurisdiction.