katybookworm
New member
What I'm curious about is how you get your husband to agree to you changing it to the maternal grandparents? I'm thinking that this would cause alot of arguments in my house.
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Legal Guardianship
- Thread starter bekyboo44
- Start date
Hello ALL,
This is an issue I have been trying to deal with since our daughter was born. Being an expat living in HK with my husband and I holding different passports does make things very complicated legally and to be honest I am not sure any will would be 100% .... so here are my 2 cents:
1) I would make your wishes know and even document them to all grandparents and siblings .... that way no relative can dispute what you and your husband would have wanted
2) I would highly recommend making the executor of your estate (i.e. the person who controls the money you leave for your child) someone other than the guardian(s) ... this way you have a check and balance in place and no conflict of interest when it comes to your child's needs
3) Also consider the age of the guardian(s) you select ... grandparents may just be too old in 10, 15 years etc. We have a 1st choice and then 2 back ups as you never know. The one thing that was important to us was to have our daughter brought up by someone that could give her as close as possible the life we would.
If anyone reading this can answer a question that I have not been able to resolve is ... what happens in a crisis situation, say a car crash and your child survives or is at home, once the authorities discover the child is alone, do they :
-- take her in to their custody or HK version of child services?
-- is there anything we can do to ensure one of our consulates or at least close friends rather take our daughter until a relative can get to Hong Kong?
-- Also if we were say in Thailand on vacation, should we travel with any special paperwork?
I know these are horrible thoughts, but just want to make sure we have done everything we can, just in case.
Thanks for any input!
This is an issue I have been trying to deal with since our daughter was born. Being an expat living in HK with my husband and I holding different passports does make things very complicated legally and to be honest I am not sure any will would be 100% .... so here are my 2 cents:
1) I would make your wishes know and even document them to all grandparents and siblings .... that way no relative can dispute what you and your husband would have wanted
2) I would highly recommend making the executor of your estate (i.e. the person who controls the money you leave for your child) someone other than the guardian(s) ... this way you have a check and balance in place and no conflict of interest when it comes to your child's needs
3) Also consider the age of the guardian(s) you select ... grandparents may just be too old in 10, 15 years etc. We have a 1st choice and then 2 back ups as you never know. The one thing that was important to us was to have our daughter brought up by someone that could give her as close as possible the life we would.
If anyone reading this can answer a question that I have not been able to resolve is ... what happens in a crisis situation, say a car crash and your child survives or is at home, once the authorities discover the child is alone, do they :
-- take her in to their custody or HK version of child services?
-- is there anything we can do to ensure one of our consulates or at least close friends rather take our daughter until a relative can get to Hong Kong?
-- Also if we were say in Thailand on vacation, should we travel with any special paperwork?
I know these are horrible thoughts, but just want to make sure we have done everything we can, just in case.
Thanks for any input!
Hi Genro- not sure of specific answer to your questions....my Mum lives in HK so not something we have had to worry about. Your best bet would be to ask the relevant HK government dept.- immigration? social welfare dept? As well as the relevant consulate. Then you will know for sure what would happen.
Food for thought.
I am canadian, as is my husband, but was born and raised in hong kong, and holds a hong kong id card,so I am not really sure if he is considered a canadian when we are in hong kong, or if he is considered chinese. The children are canadian.
We have a canadian will and canadian guardians in place, but if we are travelling in hong kong and we were killed, would my husbands parents them automatically get guardianship? Horror! Not only are they too old (in their 70's and 80's), I would not want them to raise my children, they have very old fashioned ideas on child raising! Would there then be a big legal battle for out canadian guardians to get the children back into canada? I would think not so, as they hold canadian citizenship, but I am not sure. I never really thought about that until I read this thread.
I am canadian, as is my husband, but was born and raised in hong kong, and holds a hong kong id card,so I am not really sure if he is considered a canadian when we are in hong kong, or if he is considered chinese. The children are canadian.
We have a canadian will and canadian guardians in place, but if we are travelling in hong kong and we were killed, would my husbands parents them automatically get guardianship? Horror! Not only are they too old (in their 70's and 80's), I would not want them to raise my children, they have very old fashioned ideas on child raising! Would there then be a big legal battle for out canadian guardians to get the children back into canada? I would think not so, as they hold canadian citizenship, but I am not sure. I never really thought about that until I read this thread.
I would speak to the Canadian consulate.
I believe if your husband holds a canadian passport and not a chinese one then he is considered canadian...even with a HKID card....was reading up on something similar today when applying for my sons permanent residency.
I am worried now because my son has the same passport as my husband, and not the same one as me. Which means he doesn't have the same passport as his guardian. I hope that doesn't mean he becomes the custody of my husbands home country and thus the custody of his paternal grandparents....!
A HK will should override this?
I believe if your husband holds a canadian passport and not a chinese one then he is considered canadian...even with a HKID card....was reading up on something similar today when applying for my sons permanent residency.
I am worried now because my son has the same passport as my husband, and not the same one as me. Which means he doesn't have the same passport as his guardian. I hope that doesn't mean he becomes the custody of my husbands home country and thus the custody of his paternal grandparents....!
A HK will should override this?
beckveldman
Registered User
Answer for Genro
In the wills we had drawn up in Hong Kong (by a group that specialise in expats' wills) we name not only permanent guardian(s) with a secondary back-up, but also a Temporary guardian and a secondary backup for the exact situation you describe.
The temporary guardian is someone in Hong Kong (so usually a close friend) who is nominated to take care of your child in an emergency capacity until the "real" guardian can arrive.
Hope that helps.
In the wills we had drawn up in Hong Kong (by a group that specialise in expats' wills) we name not only permanent guardian(s) with a secondary back-up, but also a Temporary guardian and a secondary backup for the exact situation you describe.
The temporary guardian is someone in Hong Kong (so usually a close friend) who is nominated to take care of your child in an emergency capacity until the "real" guardian can arrive.
Hope that helps.
beckveldman
Registered User
SAR International, http://www.profwills.com/
They are very thorough and familiar with wills in various jurisdictions. As an expat in Hong Kong you may be in need of more than one will, depending on the place you are from originally.
They are very thorough and familiar with wills in various jurisdictions. As an expat in Hong Kong you may be in need of more than one will, depending on the place you are from originally.
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