Who is legally responsible for making custody decisions for the six‑year‑old after the deaths of both biological parents?

1. Who the law favors first: surviving biological parents and the presumption of parental rights

If there is a surviving biological parent, most statutes and court decisions create a strong presumption that custody belongs to that parent absent evidence of unfitness, abandonment, or prior termination of rights, and courts will not lightly override that constitutionally protected parental interest ^{[4] [5] [6]}.

2. The trigger when both parents are dead: probate courts and guardianship proceedings

When both parents have died, probate or family courts typically conduct a guardianship or custody proceeding to appoint a responsible adult; judges will seriously consider any guardian named in a deceased parent’s will but are bound to select whoever serves the child’s best interests, which can mean appointing grandparents, other relatives, a stepparent who legally adopted the child, or, if no suitable family is available, a state placement ^{[1] [2] [7]}.

3. How parental wishes and estate planning interact with court power

Parents can and should designate a preferred guardian in a will or trust, and courts generally give those testamentary nominations substantial weight, especially the last surviving parent’s choice, but those private directives are not dispositive—if the nominated guardian is unfit or courts find a better option for the child, the court may reject the nomination ^{[7] [1] [3]}.

4. Who else can step forward: relatives, stepparents, and third parties who petition

Close relatives—particularly grandparents—often have standing to petition for custody or visitation when both parents are gone, and some states explicitly grant grandparents visitation rights unless it would harm the child; stepparents or family friends can also petition, but nonparents face a legal uphill battle because courts generally prefer parental or closest-family custody unless compelling evidence shows otherwise ^{[4] [8] [2]}.

5. The standard the court applies: “best interests” and state-by-state rules

Courts decide these cases under the “best interests of the child” standard, which is fact-intensive and varies by state—some jurisdictions impose rebuttable presumptions favoring a surviving parent, others require clear and convincing evidence to take custody away from a parent, and the child’s maturity or preferences may be considered in older minors but will not be dispositive for a six‑year‑old ^{[4] [9] [5]}.

6. Practical hurdles and procedural requirements that affect who ultimately decides

Legal realities such as whether paternity is established for unmarried fathers, whether parental rights were previously terminated, and whether a will exists naming guardians will shape who can legally claim custody—unmarried surviving fathers may need to establish paternity in court before custody is recognized, and without any viable claimant the court may place the child temporarily while seeking a permanent guardian ^{[10] [9] [2]}.

7. Caveats, alternative perspectives, and where reporting can be incomplete

While estate-planning and family-law sources emphasize naming guardians to avoid foster-placement risks, that advice is often tied to practitioners’ business incentives to sell wills and trusts; moreover, the surveyed reporting is state-slice heavy and cannot substitute for jurisdiction-specific statutes and case law, so any definitive answer for a particular child should be confirmed with local counsel or the applicable state statute because procedural variations and thresholds for overcoming parental presumptions differ across states ^{[7] [11] [12]}.