Must godparents be willing to become legal guardians?

[DL82]

I understand that traditionally, if something happened to both of a child’s parents, it was considered the godparents’ responsibility to look after the child. Firstly, does a godparent have any claim in law to take on this responsibility, or would the state authorities take control in that situation? Secondly, can someone who would be unable to look after a child become its godparent? I am discerning a call to cloistered religious life, and of course I wouldn’t be able to bring a child into that environment. Should I refuse to be a godparent on those grounds?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

The roles of godparent and legal guardian are entirely distinct. A godparent witnesses the baptism and assists the parents in the child’s spiritual formation. Only if the godparent agrees to also be a legal guardian and the parents, in their wills, name that godparent to be the legal guardian in the event of their deaths would the godparent assume such a duty if the parents died. A qualified Catholic may be a godparent to the child but decline any further requests to be the child’s legally-named guardian.