Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
Custody of Granchild in event of parents death
Our daughter and her husband have a 1 mth old baby girl. I have stated to her that because they are on the road so much they should have a legal document drawn up that states if something happens to both of them, what happens to their baby. This is extremely important in their case because the two families do not get along. My daughter ran away at the age of 16 to be with him and returned home after more than a year. I later found out that his mother is the person that came and removed her from the state (they had moved to a different state) and hid my daughter for more than a year. While gone my daughter found that her father-in-law was very abusive to his own children and his stepchildren and is still abusive towards her mother-in-law. She is adamant that if something happens to her and her husband, she wants her baby to live with me and her mother but without a document of some kind stating this, I fear that if something did happen my granddaughter would be caught up in a very nasty custody battle. My daughter's mother-in-law has asked on more than one occasion for my daughter and her husband to give them this baby because they could always have more. Please let me know how to protect this child. Thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Custody of Granchild in event of parents death
Your will can specify who you would want as guardian however, the ultimate decision is for the court.