May 2005

Parental Responsibility

ATTENTION ALL FATHERS!!!!!

Are an unmarried father?
Are you a father who has recently divorced?
Are you a step father?

Do you know what is meant by "Parental Responsibility"?
Do you have "Parental Responsibility" for your children???

If your answer is:

1. Don't Know
2. Not Sure
3. Haven't a clue
4. Help!

Then this is the article for you...

What is Parental Responsibility?

Parental Responsibility is the term used to describe your rights and duties in relation to your child. This covers matters such as consenting to medical treatment, deciding where your child should live, what school they should attend, what religion they should follow and what surname they should be known by. A mother of a child automatically receives Parental Responsibility when that child is born. Until 1st December 2003 unmarried fathers only received Parental Responsibility if they were married to the child's mother at the date of the birth or married the child's mother at a later date. This only applies to natural fathers and does not include step fathers. However, there has been a change in the law and this relates to unmarried fathers.

The Unmarried Father

In today's society more and more people are having children outside marriage. Now you may think as a father your rights towards your children are equal to the mother's. The answer to this is that "it depends!" Confused? - well let us explain further. If your child was born prior to 1st December 2003 then the answer is no. Basically, you have no rights in relation to your child and technically you are not allowed to consent to medical treatment, nor are you entitled to be involved in decisions such as where your child should live, their schooling or receive notice if your ex-partner wishes to change their surname! The reason for this is that you do not have "Parental Responsibility".

Worried? - well don't be "Parental Responsibility" can be gained by either a Parental Responsibility Agreement, applying for a Residence Order or a Parental Responsibility Order at Court. If your ex-partner is agreeable to you having Parental Responsibility then you can both enter into a formal agreement reflecting this. This is a formal Agreement which is registered with The Principle Registry of the Family Division in London.

What if my ex-partner is not agreeable and the children are living with her?

If you are concerned that your ex partner is not looking after your child properly then you may consider making an application for a Residence Order. If however, your child's welfare is being well looked after but the relationship between you and your ex-partner is strained, as sometimes it is, then you may consider making an application to the Court for a Parental Responsibility Order. In deciding whether to grant this the Court will look at the degree of commitment you have shown towards your child e.g. keeping contact arrangements or pursuing contact despite the hostility of your ex-partner, the level of attachment between you and your child. Now this may be difficult if your child is young or you have been refused contact as naturally you would not have had an opportunity to develop this. However, given the change in the law and the fact that registering your child’s birth who is born after 1st December 2003 gives an unmarried father Parental Responsibility it is questionable whether the Court will view these applications in the same way. Nevertheless, the Court will look at why the application has been made. This is to ensure that vexatious applications used only to cause stress to the other party are not allowed to proceed.

If however, your child was born after 1st December 2003 and you registered the birth of the child with your partner then you automatically acquire Parental Responsibility.

Divorced Fathers

Natural fathers receive Parental Responsibility if they were married to the child's mother at the time of the child's birth. In addition if a natural father marries the child's mother after their birth then they too acquire Parental Responsibility. A subsequent Divorce DOES NOT distinguish a father's Parental Responsibility.

Step Fathers

Step Fathers do not acquire Parental Responsibility by virtue of marrying the child's mother. The only way a Step Father can obtain Parental Responsibility for a child is by successfully applying for a Residence Order or an Adoption Order.

Conclusion

Just because you do not have Parental Responsibility does not prevent you making an application to the Court for contact with your child, applying for an Order preventing the other party removing your child from the jurisdiction or other matters such as preventing or reversing the change of your child's surname. If you are experiencing difficulties in relation to this please call in and make an appointment to speak with a member of our Family Department who are always happy to assist.

For further information, please contact our offices.