Custody & Kidnapping

I can’t speak to your specific situation but generally, parents have the first right to custody. If one parent has custody and that parent dies, then generally, the other parent may get custody unless there is a compelling reason for a judge to award custody to a third party instead. For example, if a child hasn’t met the other parent or that parent is unfit in some way (drugs, mental illness, etc), sometimes a third party like a grandparent or other relative may try to petition the court for custody and prove that the surviving parent is unfit and it’s in the child’s best interests to go with that relative. If there is no relative asking for custody and the other parent is unfit or not willing to take custody, perhaps the State would step in at that point to take the child. Some people who are worried about what may happen to their child upon their death may try to talk to a relative or trusted friend to ask if that person would file for custody if that is what the parent wants. Again, I cannot speak to what the laws or common practices are in STATE and so if you want to get some advice on what you can do now to try to prepare for after your passing, you may want to talk to a lawyer. Here is a link for free and paid lawyers: LINK