This emphasises the importance of responsibility for children rather than rights over children. If you have parental responsibility for a child you have the ability to make and be involved in all significant decisions relating to the upbringing of that child. For example:
• Which school your child will attend
• Access to school reports and parents’ evenings (if the child does not live with you)
• Religion
• Discipline
• Authorise medical treatment
Parental responsibility does not however give the parent who is not living with the child the right to interfere daily on more trivial matters such as watching tv, what the child eats, what time the goes to bed; this should be left to the parent with day to day care.
Who has parental responsibility?
A mother automatically has parental responsibility as does a father married to the mother (where marriage occurs before or after the birth)
Unmarried fathers can however acquire it in the following ways:
• Entering into a Parental Responsibility Agreement with the mother
• Marrying the mother
• For a child born and registered after 1st December 2003, by being named on the birth certificate
• Order of the Court – A Court is likely to grant parental responsibility to an unmarried father if he can show commitment to the child, a genuine attachment and the right motivation.
• Obtaining a Residence Order from the County Court.
Step Parents/Civil Partners
Since 2002 it has been possible for step parents and civil partners of parents to obtain parental responsibility either by agreement with the parent (with parental responsibility) or by Order of the Court. Parental Responsibility lasts until the child is 18 and will not end if the marriage or civil partnership ends.
At Harold Benjamin we can draft a Parental Responsibility Agreement for you for a fixed fee or to discuss further and to book a free initial consultation click here.
