More couples are becoming parents without
making any legal commitment to each other as partners. Being unmarried
will mean that a father will have no automatic rights as a parent
- he will have to take action to acquire those rights.
How your child's birth is registered
and who is there to register the birth will have an impact on who
will have Parental Responsibility (the right to be responsible for
a child).
Married or not is part of LivingTogether - a campaign led by Advicenow.org.uk to inform cohabiting couples of their legal rights. The Nuffield Foundation and the Department for Constitutional Affairs supported One Plus One's development of material for Married or Not. The legal information on this site was checked by Sarah Forster.
Disclaimer: This website is intended to offer general
non-specific guidance in outline form. Those accessing
it should not rely solely on the information or advice
it contains.