Parental responsibility
What is parental
responsibility?
Parental Responsibility (PR) is a legal
term.
PR is defined in the Children Act 1989 as
'all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authorities
which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and
his property.'
Without it, you don't have any right
to be involved in decisions such as where the
child lives, their education, religion or medical treatment. A father
with Parental Responsibility can also have more of a say in whether
their child is taken out of the country.
You automatically have PR if:
You are the biological mother of the child.
You are the father of the child and are married to (or later marry) the mother.
You are an unmarried father and are registered on the birth certificate (this applies only to those births registered since 1st December 2003).
You have adopted the child.
You must take steps to acquire PR if:
You are an unmarried father and are not registered on the birth certificate.
You are not the biological parent, even if your partner is.
Ways to get PR:
If you are the biological father, you can act with the mother to re-register the birth to include your details on the birth certificate.
If you are the biological father, you can make a PR agreement with the mother’s consent.
If you are the biological father and the mother refuses to make a PR agreement, you can apply to the court for a PR order.
If you are the partner of the biological parent, and your partner’s child lives with you, you can get PR in one of a number of ways: you can ask the court for a Residence Order; you can make a PR agreement with consent from the child’s parents; you can apply for a court order; or, you can apply for an Adoption Order.
Further information
For more information go to the General
Register Office website
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