Monday, 31 May 2021
Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Thursday, 20 May 2021
Why Writing a Will for appointing a guardian for your child is very Important- As soon as one becomes a Parent.
As the second wave of COVID-19
continues to wreak havoc across India with more than 400,000 cases being
reported daily in the country, thousands of families have lost their kin to the
deadly virus.
While experts suggest that the
mortality rate in the second wave is similar to last year’s wave, data shared
by the Indian government clearly shows that the ratio of young adults, in the
30 to 40 age group, dying of the disease is higher than the first wave. This
means there are more young children losing their parents and some have been
left totally alone as their entire immediate family has succumbed to the virus.
While most of the
time one parent has succumbed to the virus and other remains hospitalized,
there are also instances where children of single mothers became orphans.
Though these kids may sometimes be taken care of by their relatives or distant
family, there needs to be a behavioral check on the caretakers as the emotional
situation of these children is very sensitive at the moment. The counselling of
such children is very delicate as they are in a very fragile emotional state
and talking to them about these traumatic events resurfaces them.
Lets see a small
instance of what is happening (names changed to secure identity).
In a rural
village in north India, Shanta Devi received a call. It was a young girl
claiming to be a member of a child rights NGO, asking for financial help for a
12-year-old girl who had lost everyone to COVID-19 in Delhi.
Shanta, upon
hearing the story says that she transferred a decent amount of money for the
child. They asked for an online payment and assured that it would be used for
the child’s nutrition.
“After I tried
calling them to know about the condition of the child the next day, I realized
they had blocked my number. That’s when I understood that I have been duped,”
she says while complaining that it was a crisis in the country at this time and
filing a police complaint against these people would hardly bring any results.
Meanwhile, Indian
Government said that no organization or individual is officially
authorized to take custody of children whose guardians have died from the
pandemic unless authorized by the government. They said that they have
established a dedicated child helpline number 1098 for the emergency messages
about children who have lost their families COVID. They said that it was not
legal for someone to transfer custody of an orphan child of anyone else.
For instance, a 16-year-old girl in
Lucknow’s Alambagh lost her parents, younger brother and grandmother in 10 days
between April 22 and May 2 to the pandemic, while her elder brother was yet to
recover from Covid infection. The girl was left abandoned after the tragedy and
was later shifted to her relative’s place. In another case, three infants were
found in the past one week after being abandoned by two families in Hardoi and
Barabanki. The two infants in Hardoi were handed over to Child Line.
Social media posts appealing for adoption
of kids allegedly orphaned during the Covid-19 pandemic may be a trick played
out by child trafficking gangs that generally get activated during such
calamities, warned UP police officials and child rights activists. The
authorities have not only launched a probe into such posts but also begun
gathering data on children actually orphaned by the pandemic.
Several children in
the State lost parents to the pandemic, and their relatives, who might not be
fully aware of the adoption process, are falling prey to some messages
circulating on the social media. "The persons who are sharing these
messages may be doing it with good intentions, but child traffickers can easily
take advantage of this situation. The kids might get sold for adoption,
begging, child labour, flesh trade or even organ transplant. Enough awareness
is lacking in the society on the legal system with regard to adoption,"
says Andrew.
A senior child
psychologist and behavioral consultant based in India, says that in today’s
situation it has become all too common that children are confronted with the
death of their parents. She adds that parentally bereft children in the
pandemic may face unique challenges and the social isolation, institutional
strain, and economic struggles caused by the pandemic might make them feel
aloof and unsupported.
In nuclear families where children are not
very close to other family members. The situation is completely unprecedented.
It is very difficult to describe what the child will be going through.
Teenagers will be in denial and grief. They behave abnormally and go numb. If
the child has also tested positive, even relatives wouldn’t come closer.
Suddenly the child will feel he or she is alone in this world and may slip into
anxiety and depression. Immediate moral and psychological help with regular
long time follow up is very necessary for such children.
It’s been over 30
years since the Juvenile Justice Act was formulated and this constitutes the
children adoption process. Yet, the authorities have failed to educate citizens
about this Act or the 1098 childline, which works along with government
agencies like Social Defense, Child Welfare Committee, Social Welfare, and
Juvenile Justice Board, among many others. The adoptions are regulated through
the Central Adoption Research Agency (CARA).
All said, by now, we as parents should gather
our thoughts about the following:
1.
As soon as we
become parents, we are responsible for the following:
·
Healthy
upbringing of children
·
Financial support
and security to them
·
Looking after
their Emotional well being
·
Healthy and
timely advisory
2.
In case of loss
of one parent , the other parent is the natural legal guardian
3.
In case of loss
of both the parents, there can be two possible situations:
a)
The parents DID
NOT have a WILL and had not appointed a legal guardian. The following may be
the possibilities:
Ø Either the paternal or maternal grandparents may agree to look
after the child/children
Ø In the above case it should be noted that sometimes financial or
physical problems may be there
Ø The uncles and aunts in such homes may not approve of the kids
staying with them
Ø Other relatives, friends etc may not be willing to take the
responsibility
Ø They may want to give the child for adoption in an informal way
Ø This is sometimes risky as mentioned in the article above
Ø Legal adoptions may take time and is a lengthy procedure
Ø Adoptions are monitored by the Central Adoption
Research Agency (CARA)
Ø These incidents certainly take a toll on the
mental wellness of the child
b)
The parents DID
HAVE a WILL and HAD appointed a legal guardian. The following are the turn of
events:
Ø The parents will think of all aspects before appointing a Guardian
for their child.
Ø Sometimes, the parents might thing that a trust formation would be
a better option along with appointing of the legal guardian.
Ø The legal guardian, trustees are also well aware of their roles
and responsibilities.
Ø The mental condition of the child is not further put to test with
every passing day and event.
From the above, I hope as parents you will be
able to comprehend, decide and take action. In this pandemic we read a lot of
news of orphaned kids but would never think this could be a reality in any of
our lives. PAUSE, THINK, TAKE ACTION.
Our team at DiL SE Will is
striving hard to bring awareness about the importance of making Will in India.
We are way in making all possible effort to make the task of Will creation easy
and a hands on job. Make it your priority, your “to do” for 2021.
It is no more a luxury. It is a necessity.
Disclaimer-
This blog is informative in nature and created for pro bono purpose , it is not
a legal advice.
Visit us at https://www.dilsewill.com/
to make your will online or offline.
Connect to us at 9830648068 / 8017053224 for assistance.
Mail us your queries at info@dilsewill.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)