When Melbourne-based medical scientist Ritika Saxena talks about her two teenage cousins, one sentence cuts through the months of paperwork, school fees and uncertainty.
“They really only have got each other.”
The brothers, Ryan and Dhanush, now 17 and 13, lost their father suddenly last December. Their mother is alive but has longstanding and serious mental health challenges and is currently being cared for by relatives in India.
The boys have grown up in Australia. Today, they are living at a boarding school, while Ritika and her younger sister have become the closest thing they have to parents here.
But Ritika is not their legal guardian. And although their father left behind superannuation and life insurance, the family has so far been unable to access the money.
Their lives changed on 4 December. Their father, who was in his late 40s, had gone for a jog that morning but returned home feeling unwell. He visited a GP and later collapsed at home.
Ryan, then 16, was there. He performed CPR on his father until paramedics arrived. His father was eventually taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital but could not be saved.
Dhanush was away at school camp. He returned to learn that his father had died while he was away.
Their father had been the family’s sole breadwinner and managed almost every aspect of family life. Their mother, whose illness had been managed for many years, required care herself. After her husband’s death, she was hospitalised and the family eventually decided, with her treating team, that she would be better supported by relatives in India.
That left the boys in Melbourne and Ritika trying to piece together her late uncle’s financial affairs. She went through his papers looking for mortgage, superannuation and insurance details. Eventually, she located the superannuation and, almost by chance, found a piece of paper showing he also had a separate life insurance policy.
What followed has been months of phone calls, paperwork, lawyers and waiting.
Both claims are being processed, but Ritika says accessing the money has been complicated because the boys’ mother remains legally responsible for them and is also a beneficiary.
For Ritika, the family appears to have fallen into a gap in the system.
“None of the systems and supports are designed for a situation like this where the boys are practically orphans, but legally they have a mother,” she says.
Child Protection has been involved twice, Ritika says, but there has been no formal change to the boys’ guardianship. A lawyer is helping the family navigate guardianship arrangements and power of attorney.
Government assistance has also proved complicated. With help from a Melbourne City Mission social worker, the family secured Youth Allowance. But Ritika says an application for Family Tax Benefit for Dhanush was unsuccessful because they could not provide court orders or formal guardianship documents.
Boarding school became the most practical way to keep the brothers together, but it comes at a considerable cost.
According to Ritika, their combined school fees are about $85,000 this year. An online fundraiser has raised close to $50,000, while family members have contributed around another $25,000 towards airfares and other expenses.
Now the money is running out. Ritika estimates they need about another $40,000 to cover the remaining school instalments while they wait for the superannuation and insurance claims to be resolved.
This year is particularly important. Ryan is completing Year 12 and will turn 18 next year, while Dhanush is only in Year 7.
Moving the boys to India would be cheaper. The family also considered keeping Ryan in Australia and sending Dhanush to India. But Australia is the only home they have known, and separating them was quickly ruled out.
“The brothers absolutely have to stay together,” Ritika says. “They’ve only got each other.”
For now, the family hopes the fundraiser can provide a bridge: enough to get Ryan through Year 12 and Dhanush through Year 7, while keeping the brothers together as the legal, superannuation and insurance processes continue.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover Ryan and Dhanush’s school and boarding costs while the family waits for the superannuation and insurance claims to be resolved. To support the boys or learn more click the link below.
Click to visit the fundraiser here
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