There are times when people confuse godchild for an adopted child. Though there may be so many similarities, it does not mean they are 100% the same. Both godchild and biological child may receive the same treatment. However, it does not mean both will enjoy the same benefits when their (god)parents have passed away.
What does it mean to be a godchild?
If you do not know what a godchild is, let me explain it to you in simple language. A godchild is not a biological child or an adopted child. Godchildren do not necessarily enjoy the same benefits as a biological child or an adopted child.
A godchild is someone who has no blood relations with their godparents. They also do not have any legal relations with them. Unlike biological children, when their parents have passed away, their parents’ assets will be passed down to them with or without a will. The same thing with an adopted child – as long as they are legally adopted by their legal guardians, they can inherit their adopted parents’ belongings.
However, for a godchild – it works differently. As a matter of fact, it works so differently for them it is absolutely nothing like what adopted children and biological children get. A godchild has no legal or biological relationships with their godparents. With that being said, they will never inherit any assets from them.
A godparent is appointed to be a child’s spiritual or religious guide. It’s usually formed within a church or religious community. There are no legal relations between the godparent and the godchild. Their relationship is purely limited to within a religious community.
How and when will a godchild be able to inherit assets from their godparents?
Godparents are not necessarily legal guardians of godchildren. That being said, godchildren are not necessarily legal heirs to their appointed godparents. If a godparent wishes to leave their assets to their godchildren, they will have to make it explicitly known in their wills.
The only time when a godchild can inherit from their godparents is when their godparent named them as one of their beneficiaries in their wills. If godchildren are not named as a beneficiary in the wills, then they will receive nothing from their godparents. Always remember that if there are none of their names in the wills, then the godchildren will get nothing. Also note that if the will is not legalized, then it’s less likely that the godchild will be able to inherit anything.
If you are a godparent, you should legalize your will to fortify it. That way your godchild will be able to inherit something from you when you are no longer around. For the most part, godparents and godchildren share an emotional and religious relationship. It does not necessarily need to be a legal relationship unless they choose to.
A godparent’s role is chosen for their capability to lead a godchild through their religious education. Again, this is not necessarily a legal relationship. Godparents are not necessarily automatically legal guardians of their godchildren. That means godchildren are not automatically legal children of their godparents.
If both parties wish to have a legal relationship, then the relationship has to be made legal with all legal documents in place.
Bottom Line
A godchild may not necessarily inherit anything from their godparents. However, if the godparents decide to leave anything behind for their godchildren, they can do so by legally naming them as one of their beneficiaries.
