Alfred Ip discusses legal considerations necessary for the protection of children. Why it is crucial to make a Will and keep children sheltered from the immediate impact of the Probate process, while assuring that (permanent and temporary) guardians have been appointed to take care of the needs of your loved ones.
The event is part of the #ProtectYourChildren campaign. From 9 November – World Adoption Day – to 6 December 2020 Hugill & Ip Solicitors celebrates Adoption Awareness Month. We wish to spread awareness about issues related to the protection of minors and to raise funds to benefit the children without families and pregnant teenagers in Hong Kong.
Every contribution to Mother’s Choice counts. Our vision is to see every child in a loving family, giving hope and changing the life stories of vulnerable girls and babies.
葉煥信律師討論保護兒童需要考慮的法律因素。訂立遺囑並使兒童免在遺囑認證程序中受到直接影響的重要原因，同時確保已委任（永久和臨時）監護人來照顧您的孩子。
此課程是宣傳#ProtectYourChildren活動的一部分。高葉律師行會由11月9日（世界領養日）至2020年12月6日慶祝世界領養月。我們希望提高大眾對保護未成年人的認識和意外懷孕的少女。
每一份捐助都足以改寫生命。我們的遠景是每個孩子都擁有一個關愛的家，為弱勢的少女和孩子燃點希望、改寫生命。
SHOW NOTES
00:30 Worst case scenario – 最壞情況
01:38 Wills – 遺囑
02:18 Guardianship appointment – 監護權的委任
02:58 Temporary guardianship – 臨時監護權
Act now!
We will write your Deed of Guardianship for direct donations to Mother’s Choice!
Donate a minimum of HK$4,800 from 9 November to 6 December 2020 and then book your appointment with us before 30 April 2021. Your donations can benefit your children or you may nominate a friend or someone in need via Mother’s Choice families’ network.
直接捐款到「母親的抉擇」，本行就能為您準備監護權契!
凡於2020年11月9日至2020年12月6日捐助最少港幣$4,800，即可預約在2021年4月30日前擬定監護權契，讓孩子，親友或「母親的抉擇」的盟友做好準備。
TRANSCRIPT
Children are keys to families and future. They represent hope and aspiration. They are the most invaluable assets. Parents play the key role in their care and upbringing. Hence any risk suffered by the parents would have detrimental effects to their children.
In Hong Kong, a lot of families have parents who are both income-generating. In the event of untimely death of one parent, the family’s wealth may become vulnerable. A lot of people have the misconception that, in the event of death, the surviving spouse will inherit everything automatically. Under the intestacy rules, the surviving spouse and the children can share the estate, but the surviving spouse must nominate someone to co-administer the estate if the children are minors. It creates unnecessary stress and burden to the surviving spouse in the succession process. For those families with one parent being the sole breadwinner, the death of that parent would have a major blow to the family. The dependants may immediately lose their income source, putting them in a financially vulnerable position during the succession process. In the event of death of both parents – for example in an accident – the children immediately become orphans.
All parents are advised to make a Will to designate someone as the executor and specify who will inherit the estate. The benefits are:
- simplify the succession process, allowing the surviving family members to have access to family wealth quickly;
- designate a reliable person as trustee to the family wealth, and hold on to it until the children reach a certain age;
- the trustee will look after the children’s financial needs including education, activities, medical and daily needs until they become independent.
It is also advisable to appoint someone as children’s guardian with a Deed of Appointment of Guardianship, so that there will be someone looking after the children when the parents cannot look after them anymore. Desirably, the guardians will be different from the trustees. The trustees will assume the responsibilities of the children’s financial needs, while the guardians will look after the children’s care and upbringing. They work together to ensure that the children will continue to grow in a stable environment, and benefit from the family wealth after they have grown up.
If the guardians do not reside in the same country, it is also desirable to appoint temporary guardians to look after the children until they are in the hands of the permanent guardians. Permanent guardians can come over and pick them up, or temporary guardians can bring them over to the permanent guardians with such costs reimbursed from the estates. Without the Deed, anyone who wishes to assume guardianship of any minors after their parents passed away would have to apply to Court. The Court would consider such application carefully, having considered the circumstances of the children and the intended guardians.
It is a lengthy and costly process, and it may attract dispute if more than one relative wish to become the guardians.
兒童是家庭和未來的關鍵。他們代表著希望和抱負，是最寶貴的資產。父母在照料和養育子女中擔當不可替代的角色。因此，父母發生任何意外都會對子女造成影響。
在香港，很多家庭都是「雙職家庭」。如果其中一位父母突然離世，會為家庭經濟帶來負擔。很多人誤以為配偶死亡，尚存配偶會自動繼承所有遺產。根據《無遺囑者遺產條例》，遺下的配偶和子女都能繼承遺產，但若子女未成年，配偶必須提名遺產管理人共同管理遺產。管理遺產的過程能為尚存配偶造成不必要的壓力和負擔。對於那些只有一名父母養家的家庭來說，該父母的去世會對家庭造成重大打擊。受撫養人可能會立即失去收入來源，令他們在承辦過程中有財政困難。假若父母雙方在意外中死亡，孩子便會立即成為孤兒。
建議父母訂立遺囑以指定遺囑執行人，並指定繼承人繼承自己的遺產。好處是：
- 簡化承繼過程，使尚存家庭成員能夠更快分配到財產
- 指定一個可靠的家庭財產的受託人，直到孩子達到一定年齡爲止
- 受託人將照顧孩子的財務需要，包括教育，活動，醫療和日常需求，直到他們獨立為止。
建議定立監護權契任命孩子的監護人，當父母不再能照顧孩子時，也會有人照顧孩子。監護人與受託人不同較理想。受託人將承擔孩子的財務需要的責任，而監護人將負責照顧和養育孩子。他們合作以確保孩子在穩定的環境中成長，直至長大後繼承家庭財產。
如果監護人不在同一國家居住，最好委任臨時監護人以便在孩子交托到永久監護人期間能夠照顧孩子。永久監護人可以過來接他們，或由臨時監護人將他們帶到永久監護人，而其費用可從遺產中扣除。沒有契約的話，任何人如想在孩子父母去世後成爲未成年孩子的監護人都必須向法院申請。法院會衡量孩子及預定監護人的情況去仔細考慮這種申請。
這是一個漫長而昂貴的過程，如果有一個以上的親戚希望成為監護人的話，甚至有機會會引起爭議。
This video is for informational purposes only. Its contents do not constitute legal or professional advice.
