Custody & Death of Parent

[fcjr]

father lives in california, mother lives in florida, both are married to different spouses. daughter is 11 years of age and has lived with father all her life. there are no custody papers. this arrangement is consentual by both parents. my questions is; if father has life insurance and dies, leaving daughter with a death benefit, who has custody of daughter? father's wife )step-mom) or biological mother? also, who controls death benefit while daughter is still a minor?

[Edited by fcjr on 07-29-2001 at 02:24 AM]

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

When the custodial parent dies, the right to legal and physical custody reverts automatically to the surviving biological parent. [Re Adoption of De Leon (1924) 70 Cal App 1, 232 P 738] All money in the child's name is controlled by the surviving parent for the child's necessities; i.e., support until the age of majority. The same rules apply on the death of a noncustodial parent.

IAAL

 

[shanney27]

I do believe ( and I will be corrected if wrong), that CA is a state that will entertain a motion for custody from a third party. So if the case is that you and your husband have raised your daughter her whole life and she has little to no contact with her mother, you might be able to make a case for her to stay with you, but if the mother has been actively involved and has had regular visitation with her child, is a fit parent and challenges your motion you have no chance of getting custody at all. It really depends on your situation (you didn't go into detail). I am not a lawyer and this is just my opinion based upon my personal experience and hanging around these boards since January. You will need to contact an attorney in your area for further assistance.