What happens if divorced parents disagree on a guardian for their child?

Usually when the first parent passes away, that parent will not have a say in who will be in charge of raising the child.  In most cases, the surviving parent will take custody.  Exceptions to this would be if the parent has a history of abuse, if the parent doesn’t want custody of the child, or if the parent is in prison.  Then, the parents will will say who will be the guardian of the child.

In the unlikely event that both parents passes away at the same time, it is preferable that the parents can agree on who will be guardian for their child.  If this doesn’t happen, then there will probably be a contested court case if there are competing parties that want guardianship of the child.