In the aftermath of Mindy McCready's suicide, a key legal question is who will receive custody of her children
- six year old Zander and 10 month old Zayne? The issue is
complicated by Zayne's father pre-deceasing Mindy last month while
Zander's father, Billy McKnight, lost custody of him years ago.
When
there is a surviving parent, a court will usually award custody to the
surviving biological parent. When there is no surviving parent, a court
will generally award custody to the person designated in the deceased's
will. I have not read anything indicating whether Ms. McCready left a
will, although I doubt a woman living in a garbage and feces strewn
house would provide for her post-death affairs. Here, the commentariat
believes that Ms. McCready's mother and step-father will receive custody
of both boys. I wish them all luck, love, and peace moving forward.
They all deserve it after the tumult in their lives.
This news
should serve as a reminder for everyone to prepare a will so that their
wishes for the custody of children post-death are not left to chance.
