Divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage by the High Court, which has permanent effects on the divorcing parties as well as other family members. Most affected by divorce are the children – who are dealt with as “ancillary issues” during the divorce proceedings. Children are included in the divorce by being catered for through discussions around custody and access rights of the divorcing parents, as a requirement of the Court. Custody reefers to the day-to-day control of the child which is usually enjoyed by the parent that lives with the child, while the non-custodian parent is awarded access rights to the minors. After the Court has issued its order, the parents continue with their lives and oftentimes start new marriages and have other children, creating blended families.
Once life has settled down, divorced parents do not think to the future of HOW their children could potentially be affected by their death/s. No frameworks and plans are in place to cater for the wellbeing of your children after your death, post-divorce. Have you identified people to step in to the gap once this happens? What role, if any, will your new partners in your children’s lives – will they be their custodians and legal guardians? Do you have answers to these questions yet? Have you thought about these before? What are you going to do?
What are your thoughts regarding your children after you die? You need to #MakeAPlan today.
This is for general information purposes only – Consult a Lawyer
