At Sophie's first birthday party her dad says something about taking a picture of Sophie with her god parents. Then Holly and Messer take a picture with her.
If they knew they were her godparents then wouldn't they know they would be left Sophie if her parents died? Or does godparents mean something different?
plothole...
shareIt's traditional that Godparents would be expected to help take care of the child(ren) in the event that the parents die, but it's not automatic nor is it assumed by the law. And there are people who name "godparents" out of tradition but don't actually consider those people to raise their kids if something happens to them. There's also the instance where you have multiple kids who may each have their own godparents--like me. I have 4 kids, and 4 sets of godparents. I wouldn't expect my kids to be split up if something should happen to my husband and me.
You have to actually name someone as a guardian for your children in your will for the law to recognize those people. It's not a plot hole. But they should've asked them before they named them as guardians. I wouldn't put someone down in my will as a guardian without clearing it with them first.
Being godparents does not mean anything legal. Sadly, even if you have godparents, if you are not put in the will, then the state can ignore parental wishes to have godparents be caregivers. If you want to give guardianship to people, godparents or not, it must be legally documented.
shareIf you want to give guardianship to people, godparents or not, it must be legally documented.
Exactly what the person above me said; it is by no means a plot hole. Traditionally godparents were meant to raise children in the event of the death of the parents but that has not been the case in many many years. Today Godparents are really someone who is meant to be another role model adult in your child's life, as well as often a way to honour a close friend.
If parents die with no will, the child is usually placed with the closest living relative, so had there been no will Holly and Messer would not have had Sophie at all. I think it is rarely 'assumed' that godparents would raise a child. I know if my own goddaughters parents, god forbid, were to die I would not expect to become guardian of her, and despite how much I love her, I would be extremely shocked to suddenly be raising her.
It is weird though that they didn't ask them if they would take Sophie were they to die. That's not very common at all, especially since they reference the fact that Allison was extremely organized, someone like that would make sure they had someone to look after their child if they died, and that would include making sure the caregivers agreed to it. Oh well!
yeah i agree that the meaning of 'godparent' has changed over the years from automatically being the one who would raise the kid to someone who's more of a role model. the meaning these days is completely up to those involved i think. i have several godchildren and from my end i would take any one of them to raise god forbid something were to happen to their parents. and my beliefs have always been that, so when someone asked me to be a godparent i took it on fully ready to take total responsibility of the child were i honored with it. however, i would never expect it.
that being said, one of my godson's dad casually said to me the other day - oh by the way did his mom tell you that you were named his legal guardian?? nope! she didn't!! lol. but i was thoroughly thrilled and completely honored. :0) so while i wasn't told ahead of time, we knew each other well enough in the first place to know what 'godparent' meant for us. maybe allison thought the same!
the thing that struck me as odd about it all though was that in a year, these godparents never changed this kid's diaper?? lol
As others have explained, the role of a godparent these days no longer means this person is automatically the guardian in the event of death.
It became more of just a role model idea, but I would say that even that is no longer the case. People these days choose a godparent more out of being their best friend, the same way they choose a best man or bridesmaids for a wedding. It's just a meaningless role now that doesn't have to have any particular gravitas in regard to actually taking care of the child.
it definitely means something different. Of course, why am I answering now? LOL.
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