Sorry this might get long. I got divorced a while back. Left the house and my wife got custody of our kid.
A bit of history: A couple of years before the divorce my ex lost her father(62) and two years later her mom(59) to cancer which means she and her sister were the only ones left.
Our relationship got worse (many reasons) and I felt divorcing was the best for the relationship and my kid. (Please don’t ask, its a long story). Eventually we got divorced and could end things amicably. Oddly enough, after the divorce our relationship actually improved and we have become really close friends. I get to meet my kid freely and I’ve been trying to support her as much as possible.
A couple of weeks ago, I suddenly received a phonecall from her that her sister(43) has been diagnosed with cancer. Stage 4, so she will lose her last family member.
I was shocked and ashamed! Ive not met anyone as unlucky as her. So im trying to be there for her as much as I can. Thats all I can do really and what she deserves.
Now, here is the thing. Me and my ex are both relatively healthy (in our 40s) but we both suffer from hypochondria, stress and mental issues that I wont go into detail and we always thought that in case we died, our kid would be taken care of by her sister. But now, we don’t have anyone anymore. Her family is gone, I’m a single child with elderly parent back home. So I’m not sure what to do here. it’s making me worried. The thought of my kid being taken in by strangers is making me feel stressed but I guess there is nothing to do about it.
I visited the lawyer yesterday to talk about a will and assigning custody to someone (in case we ever find anyone) but apparently there is no such thing, or maybe I misunderstood him. He wasnt clear on what happens to kids when both parents die and they are still not an adult, orphanage? Is there such a thing in Japan?
I was hoping to get some answers or ideas here or if someone has been in a similar situation who can share, i’d really appreciate it.
Tldr: what happens to kids if their parents die and have no other family members that can take care of them?
by UnbreakablePocky