Legally Keeping Children Safe (Guest Post)

Something which the boys' Daddy and I discuss a lot but never actually do anything about, is deciding what would happen if we split up or one of us passed away with regards to the finances, the house and who would have what. And once making such important decisions, making them legal. I always worry a little because we are not married, and although I am sure as the mother of his children I do have rights and claims to his estate, I would feel happier if it were made official.

The following guest post may help other people with the same worries and who haven't yet made these decisions, and don't know where to begin either.

Keeping Children Safe: Legal Matters

As a parent, the urge to protect and look after your children is instinctive. Your role in your family is typically as a provider, so it’s important that you have any number of ways and methods to protect and provide.

This can often translate into various legal services that can help protect you and your methods of achieving this, such as helping to keep your finances safe in those tough situations that life can often surprise you with. With the right assistance from the likes of Co-operative Legal Services, you can achieve a basic understanding of various legal issues and options to help protect yourself and, thus, the family that’s so important to you.

Legal and Financial Matters

A large portion of this is talking, or referring to, the various money and legal issues in life. Divorce, for instance, is a prime example that encompasses a lot of this. More than just dividing up money and other property, you have children to think of, such as deciding who gets custody? This can lead to various legal issues, where assistance and other services are always recommended to help with the more difficult processes.

Also bear in mind that it’s not just married couples or civil partners that can be affected by this. Although not registered, other couples can often apply for a separation agreement. As it implies, this is an agreement for separating couples that are in a similar situation. Again, money and property can be a big issue and, obviously, children can be at the heart of these matters (or heavily affected by it). There are various times when you live with someone without being married; it’s important to always remember that there are specialised services should this relationship not work out later on.

Pro-active Measures

That said, it never hurts to be proactive either. This is a case of reducing the risk of anything happening, giving you greater long-term security ahead of time.

For instance, if you're getting into a new relationship, there are agreements and other financial matters that you look into to reduce any problems later on. Whilst not directly related to your children, your financial situation is none the less one of the most important ways in which you can support them, so reducing any risk of further complications down the line will always be an advantage. Likewise you can look at writing a Will and ensuring your children get your money and support should the worst happen.

Although the legal aspects of family life may sound complicated, all these options share a common goal of protecting what’s important to you, and allowing you to carry on supporting your family as much as possible.

this is a guest post