Few parents make guardianship plans
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Most parents of young children do not have an up-to-date will, or preparations in place to support their families should they die early, according to research.
The survey by the Childhood Bereavement Network found that only one in four parents had a will in place and that nearly half of all parents of children under 16 had not chosen guardians for them.
Nearly half of those that had not put any plans in place for who would care for their children said they had not thought about it.
The network said that mortality statistics show that in people of parental age around one in four deaths are unexpected, leaving little or no time for arrangements.
The charity, which is based at the National Children’s Bureau, has launched the Plan If campaign and a dedicated website to support parents with simple, practical advice on the steps to take to make provision for their families should they die while their children are still young.
This includes writing a will, plans for guardianship, insurance, and family stories and letters for children to read in the future.
Only one in six parents had written a special letter to their children to be read after their death. Of those that had not done so, more than half said it was because they had not thought about it, while around one in five said it was too upsetting to think about.
The survey of 2,000 parents of children aged from birth to 17 was carried out by OnePoll last month.
Alison Penny, co-ordinator of the Childhood Bereavement Network, said, ‘Practical tasks, such as making a will and planning guardianship can take some of the uncertainty out of life after a parental death, and personal tasks, such as capturing family stories and writing letters to children, can provide comfort and opportunities to remember and maintain bonds if a parent dies.
‘Our research highlights the necessity of providing both emotional and practical support for all parents to make their own Plan If, to ensure their children and families are cared for should the worst happen.
‘We hope that Plan If will play a part in making society as a whole more aware of and more prepared to talk about parental death and in that way, play a part in helping bereaved children and young people respond to a death.’
The campaign is supported by risk insurer Ellipse.