What Happens to a Child After the Death of the Parent?

source: raisingchildren

There is no denying that the death of a parent is one of the most challenging things to deal with in life. During this period, they stay in a transition period where they have no option but to accept the situation after the period of remorse.

However, if you are a parent, what will bother you most is your child's emotional, health-related or financial support. The constitution has provisions regarding child support after the death of a parent. By knowing all these, you may have a rough idea about your child's future after your premature demise.

Child support becomes one of the significant concerns for parents, and only they can understand the ordeals their children will go through after their death. The first thing to consider in this case is to whom a child's custody will go if they die prematurely.

Generally, a surviving biological parent takes a child's responsibility. Apart from them, close relatives, grandparents etc., can also become their legal guardians.

However, if the custodial parent has left any assets by making Wills and trusts for the child, those can serve as financial support. There are also certain legal provisions for child support after the death of a parent, as mentioned below:

• As per Section 6 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, if a child stays in the father's custody, then after his demise, it will go to the mother. After the father's death, the mother needs to support that child with all the basic requirements for life. For which they need to collect legal confirmation.
• If the custodial parent left any will in that child's name, they would get a share in the parent's property and assets, as mentioned in the testamentary.
• Even after parental separation, the child holds every legal right to attain the ancestral property of its father, even without a will.

As per Indian regulations, if the child is below five years, their custody goes to the mother. If a custodial parent refuses to take responsibility for that child, any other close relative can become their legal guardian.

The following are different means of child support after the death of non-custodial parents:

• See if the non-custodial parents have any life insurance policy where they keep their child as beneficiary. The custodial parents can directly contact the insurance company and claim that amount on behalf of the child.
• If there are properties of the deceased person, but the parent has passed without making a Will or building trust, those properties can be used for supporting the child. These assets can be a car, house, bank accounts etc. However, in such cases, the distribution or transfer of the deceased's properties happens as per the declaration made by the concerned court.
• You need to check if there is any Will made by the non-custodial parents keeping the child as beneficiary. In such a scenario, the child can get shares of properties and wealth as mentioned in the Will.

Here are the aspects that come into consideration regarding the custody of a child in case the deceased parent has any partner:

• If there is any will left by the deceased parent, the custody of the child will follow the recorded statements mentioned in that will. So, the partner will get custody of the child if the will contains a statement like that.
• In case there is no will, or the will does not mention about the transfer of the custody of the concerned child to the partner, the court will give its judgement regarding the matter. Under such situations, the court generally gives custody to someone who has a very strong and healthy relationship with the child. It can be grandparents, uncle/aunt or cousins.

There are certain provisions in the Indian constitution strengthening child support after the death of a parent. Whatsoever the case is, if you are a parent, you are the one who should show responsibility towards your child when you are still alive.

To meet this objective, you can make Will, build trust, purchase a health insurance policy with your child as a beneficiary, etc. In this regard, contacting an expert legal supervisor can be helpful for you to take necessary measures for the support of your child after your unfortunate demise.