ROC - Divorce/Abuse waiver - what if GC parent passes

[ihaveadream 19]

Hi All.  Sorry for being morbid and asking a hypothetical question.  I am just filing my Divorce/Abuse ROC today for myself and my kids.  If I was to pass away before the final green card comes in what happens to my kids applications for ROC?

Would anyone know?

I always fear that their lives will be thrown off completely.  I understand staying here without me is another story, but my older daughter is nearly in Uni so perhaps in the situation she would just remain here as we don't have 'real' family apart from each other.  Their dad is also very abusive (in another country)

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

Studies have shown that 90% of all the things we worry about are needless worries?  Most of the things we worry about never happen..............

 

Anyway, I guarantee you your children would not be deported......be happy....😉

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

35 minutes ago, ihaveadream said:

If I was to pass away before the final green card comes in what happens to my kids applications for ROC?

If you're asking if your kids' application will be automatically denied, I don't think so. My guess is that their applications will go on and if they have to have an interview, they have to present whatever paperwork they can gather about your relationship with your spouse. What I would do is make copies of all the paperwork you have gather for your ROC case with the divorce waiver and abuse and talk to the older kid to make sure he/she knows what it is, and what he/she should do if this happens. 

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

The other thing is, if you worry about this kind of thing, do you have will? If you don't, you should get a will. If you do it with an attorney, I would make a copy of all of that stuff and give it to the attorney to be given to your next-of-kin along with the will, if you want. If you can't afford or don't want attorney and your estate is small, you can do a will by yourself, just get off the internet. I think as long as it has date, signed by you and witnessed, it's a valid will in most states. Then open a safe deposit box (very cheap, $30-$40/year) and put all that stuff in. Make sure your older kid know where that box is and/or have access to it along with the will 

[ihaveadream 19]

Grateful for your answers.

Thank you for guidance on Will @USS_Voyager

@missileman probably 99.99 percent...  

I guess given the situation and no real back up, in case I am in an accident or something getting this answer would make my last moments less worrisome...  

 

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

12 minutes ago, ihaveadream said:

I guess given the situation and no real back up, in case I am in an accident or something getting this answer would make my last moments less worrisome...

And it's not morbid, it's actually called being responsible. 

[Elf 146]

On 7/1/2019 at 10:13 AM, USS_Voyager said:

The other thing is, if you worry about this kind of thing, do you have will? If you don't, you should get a will. If you do it with an attorney, I would make a copy of all of that stuff and give it to the attorney to be given to your next-of-kin along with the will, if you want. If you can't afford or don't want attorney and your estate is small, you can do a will by yourself, just get off the internet. I think as long as it has date, signed by you and witnessed, it's a valid will in most states. Then open a safe deposit box (very cheap, $30-$40/year) and put all that stuff in. Make sure your older kid know where that box is and/or have access to it along with the will 

Good advice, except for the part about the safe deposit box.  To have continued access to the safe deposit box after the OP's death (without having been formally appointed as executor/personal representative of the estate, which cannot happen until the original will has been filed with the court), her older kid would have to be a co-owner of the box.  The law varies from state to state, but in general, if there is no surviving co-owner of the safe deposit box in which the will is believed to be kept, a court order must be obtained before the box can be opened.  At best, that's a time-consuming burden during an already difficult period.  Worse, if the family doesn't have/can't find the key to the safe deposit box, the bank will be required to drill it open - and then the deceased's estate will have to reimburse the bank for the cost of the destroyed box, which is not cheap.  (I'm not an attorney, but I work for a law firm and this is the advice our estate planning attorneys give after every will-signing).