Just thought of a scenario not handled by this:This is something that keeps me awake at night... My ex-wife is a fruit-loop who has no concept of responsibility at any level, and can't cope with the children for more than an overnight visit every few months. My second wife, despite having been thrown in the deep end with no preparation and all the challenges that step-parents face, is a wonderful mother who would do (and does) anything and everything for the children.
Woman & man marry Woman & man have baby Woman & man get divorced Woman gets custody Woman marries another man Woman is killed in an accident when child is 6 years old
Who gets primary custody at *this* point? The bio-dad or the step-dad?
My custody of the children is just a casual agreement between us, there is no court order.
If something happenned to me, the default position of the authorities would be to return the children to their natural mother, and her family would want that to happen (my family would not!). I have a clause in my will that basically begs the authorities to leave the children with their step mother, which they may take note of, but that is as much as I can do. Obviously, as the children get older the risk is less and less, but when they were 6 it was a real concern about which I had no control. (they're 10 & 13 now).
Cheers Russell C.
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