Hugill & Ip and Mother’s Choice Team Up for the #ProtectYourChildren Campaign

HONG KONG, CHINA -�Media OutReach - 3 November
2020 - Hugill
& Ip and Mother’s Choice
are excited to launch a joint campaign to raise funds to benefit our community including
the many children without families and pregnant teenagers in Hong Kong.

The #ProtectYourChildren
campaign officially kicks off on 9 November 2020. The date marks World Adoption
Day which aims to raise awareness for adoption and to support families in the
adoption process. Every year ambassadors from all over the world organise a
series of events, bringing together people from all walks of life to mark #WorldAdoptionDay.

Mother’s Choice celebrates Adoption
Awareness Month, hosting events and publishing materials to support families in
the Hong Kong community. This year Hugill & Ip will also participate to
raise awareness about legal issues related to the protection of children.

Hugill & Ip’s Estate Planning team
will prepare temporary and/or permanent Deeds of Guardianship, on a pro-bono
basis, in exchange for direct charitable donations to Mother’s Choice — the minimum
donation is HK$4,800 and all money will go to Mother’s Choice. The goal is to
benefit parents, friends or allies of Mother’s Choice to prepare for their
families’ future arrangements and security.

While donations can only be received
from 9 November to 6 December 2020, the period for taking appointments and the
preparation of Deeds of Guardianship with the Estate Planning team at Hugill
& Ip will run until 30 April 2021. This is a great opportunity for everyone
who has not yet put in place or needs to update their guardianship wishes,
while supporting an important charitable organisation. Donations are
tax-deductible.

It’s sad
to imagine, but should something happen to parents, children need a guardian to
take care of them and make fundamental life decisions. Every parent should
appoint guardians. A person appointed as the guardian will acquire full
parental rights and authority in respect of the child.  Temporary guardianship should be considered
where, for example, a permanent guardian lives overseas, but the child is alone
in Hong Kong.

In absence of a Deed of Guardianship,
children could become wards of the Social Welfare Department, even if there are
other family members in Hong Kong to care of them.  

During the campaign, there will be a
series of events regarding adoption legal issues. Mother’s Choice supports each
member of the adoption triangle, the birth parents, adoptive parents and
most importantly, the child. The organisation received accreditation from the
Adoption Unit of the Hong Kong Social Welfare Department in 2010, becoming one
of three partner agencies providing adoption services and conduct adoption
suitability assessments for prospective families.

Social responsibility has been an important
part of Hugill & Ip’s DNA since its early days. The firm is committed to
advancing policies that address all aspects of social responsibility. These
include good ethical behaviour, care for the environment and involvement in the
community, in fact social and environmental responsibility can create a chain
of personal and professional behaviours that positively impact our society, in
Hong Kong and globally.

The firm

Hugill
& Ip’s view is long term and endeavours to build lasting client
relationships based on trust, professionalism and discretion.

As a young
independent law firm, yet its lawyers bring decades of experience providing
bespoke legal advice and exceptional client service to individuals, families,
entrepreneurs and businesses, in Hong Kong and internationally.

https://www.hugillandip.com

The
charity

Mother’s
Choice is a local charity serving the many children without families and
pregnant teenagers in Hong Kong. Mother’s Choice has a Hong Kong IRD s88
charitable status (1987).

The
organisation joins hands with our community to give hope and change the life
stories of vulnerable girls and babies. The goal is to see every child in a
loving family. Through the Pregnant Girls Services, the organisation helps
young girls facing crisis pregnancy and provides tailored support based on the
choice that they make for themselves and their future, including placing the
children for adoption. Through the Child Care Home and Foster
Care Services, Mother’s Choice also provides temporary care for children
without families, some of whom may be awaiting adoption. Their Adoption
Services fights for every child to have the opportunity to thrive, by
helping them to join a forever family.

https://www.motherschoice.org