Parental responsibility
Parental responsibility covers all the rights, duties, powers and responsibilities and authority that a parent has in relation to their child.
What is parental responsibility?
The law does not really explain what parental responsibility is. However, it does include making decisions about a child’s education, going abroad and medical treatment they receive.
It is important to know that parental responsibility does not link to a right to see a child and does not mean one parent can interfere with the day to day decisions made by the resident parent.
Who has parental responsibility?
Mothers and married fathers automatically get parental responsibility.
Fathers that are not married to a child’s mother may not have parental responsibility, it depends on when the child was born and whether their name is on the birth certificate.
You can get parental responsibility in a number of ways such as if you adopt a child or the court makes a residence order in your favour.
If you are an unmarried father and the mother of your child agrees for you to have parental responsibility, it can be easy and quick to obtain.
But, if no agreement can be reached, you may need to obtain a court order.