becoming a godmother?

[tasharr]

My sister had a child 18mths ago and we have decided I will be her godmother - does anybody know of the procedure involved in getting myself officially registered? There are family issues at present and both the mother and i want to make certain that if an issue of custody arises that I will gain rights, over and above our mother (the child's grandmother). The child is not christened - does this matter? Is it just a case of signing papers at an office? Thanks for your help.

[tigersam258]

i dont think that being a godparent gives you any legal responsibility to the child more that it is a moral duty to look after them otherwise they would make godparents sign a contract at christenings.

you would need to be granted a power of attorney by a court if you were to become the legal guardian of the child but this would normally only be given by a court if the other parent was not present or able to care for the child.

the best advice would be to speak to a solicitor or Citizens Advice Bureau.

[bednobs]

agreed, "god mother" is not the same as becoming a childs guardian n the event of something happening to your sister. Does your sister have a will? does it state what is to happen to the child in the event of her death?

[Velvetee]

Yes, I don't think you can be registered anywhere, it's not a legal role, like being someone's legal guardian would be, purely a religious and moral role. Godmother is a title given when the child is christened, so doubt it would be applicable unless this happened.

You and your sister would probably need to visit a Solicitor to work out the necessary legal aspects. I would imagine being an Aunt has more significance than being a Godmother, which doesn't really mean anything really.