WA Family Law - How to Get Custody of Children in Case of Death?

[A1222]

A mother of a 1 and a half year old has a dangerous medical condition and is experiencing domestic violence and abuse by the father of the child. The couple is living together and she is financially dependent. To this date, only threats of violence and extreme emotional abuse have occurred, no violence reported towards the child. The police have not been called or any formal complaint made.

In case of the mother's death, what precautions can be made to maximise the potential for an aunt to takeover custody of children and as the primary care giver of the child under Family Law? Can statutory declarations be collected from neighbours, friends, doctors, etc? Would text messages/facebook messages detailing fear/abusive behaviour be taken into account should the mother die unexpectedly due to medical complications?

Thanks

 

[JS79]

It would be a good idea if this woman sought independent legal advice in regards to putting a valid will in place where it would state what she would like to happen to her son in case she didn't survive.

See https://lawanswers.wufoo.com/forms/get-connected-with-the-right-lawyer-for-you to find a local lawyer - one who specialises in family law and wills and estates would probably be best.

 

[AllForHer]

If the father has not committed any acts of domestic violence against the child, then the child won't be deemed to be at an unacceptable risk of harm, so your case to potentially seek guardianship of the child in the event of the mother's death would probably be unsuccessful, regardless of how many text messages and stat decs are produced before the court.

This is especially true if the child has never lived with you before, and if there is no paper trail of abuse, such as police reports or contact with DHS. Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear, but children do have a right to be raised by their parents, even if they're not good people.