Guardianship without Notice
Hi all
I am thinking of going down this route as a step parent.
Biological father lives on the other side of the world.
Mother (my wife) has health issues, I need to be able to make calls on the spot re: children in case she can’t
Biological father will oppose my application for no good reason, 100% guaranteed.
So I prefer to take this approach and let him argue about it afterwards rather than have him oppose the application with notice.
Any suggestions or thoughts? Always appreciated.
PS I have raised the child with the mother since he was 3 months old, he is 7 years old now.
Comment by Pritchards — Sat 3rd June 2017 @ 1:17 pm
I suggest you look at section 26 of the Care of Children Act. Your wife can make you a Testamentary Guardian. I have seen it done before and the Court is loathe to go against the deceased person’s wishes. And if I recall, she can do that in her Will. The first thing her ex will hear of it, is AFTER her death. Considering her ex lives overseas and has little to do with the upbringing of his son, I can’t imagine any FC Judge overturning her wishes. Sorry, if this all sounds a little fatalistic, but you need a practical solution.
Comment by golfa — Sat 3rd June 2017 @ 1:34 pm
Does enduring power of attorney help bridge any gaps not covered by the marriage?
Comment by Downunder — Sat 3rd June 2017 @ 1:46 pm
Hmmm, maybe it will be time for the child to live with his dad.
You may be a goof guy but we do not know the full story.
You are not the real dad and in the event there has been guardianship issues in the past may be the real dad would like his kid with him.
Parents living overseas are too often wrongly judged and not well treated by the nz court and people.
Unfortunately it is never a simple story.
Your wife should contact the father so he can be part of the decision.
All the best.
Comment by Dad — Sun 4th June 2017 @ 1:34 am
Wouldn’t be the first kid to get an OE. Might be the making of him.
Comment by Evan Myers — Sun 4th June 2017 @ 8:02 am
He might even have a half bro over there.
Comment by Jake — Sun 4th June 2017 @ 8:26 am
OKAY
a will don’t mean shit when your dead (especially when the family court is involved),and a legal guardian can supersede all others (even if in prison), a FACT> So I would put in a change to parenting order to have your name as a legal guardian.
Guess what they will (courts) change that application to an on notice guaranteed!
Your going about it the wrong way, go on notice and if you have been a good parent they will not deny you. And as the child is 7 a psychologist will be involved.
Don’t delay and as they have commented above ” IF the father is informed then it will be his decision to contest”. If the father has had no involvement with the child either emotionally or physical presence during those 7 years then he is fucked! Good luck to you all, and remember time in the bank of children will outlast anything that a absentee parent can do.
Comment by Buster — Sun 4th June 2017 @ 8:52 am
Thanks all
#2 – yes I have been thinking of that
#3 – thanks, I’ll look into that. My parents have just give me power of attorney for them should they be unable to make decisions so I need to understand this concept better anyway.
#4 – kid doesn’t want to live with biological dad – right now at least. Kid refers to me as his real dad. The other fellow is the legal/biological dad. If say in 5-6 years he changes his mind, and wants to live with bio-dad then I would support him. That however is not up to me.
#5 – yes sure, all in good time. he has been overseas several times already
#6 – no
#7 – Thanks for the advice, I thought that would be the case (they change it to on notice) – so may as well be transparent about it.
cheers to you all
Comment by Pritchards — Sun 4th June 2017 @ 6:25 pm