Parental Responsibility

Parental responsibility (PR) is defined as “all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has”.

A mother always has PR for a child.

A father does not automatically have parental responsibility but can acquire it if:

he is married to the mother at the time of the birth (or later on)
he is on the child’s birth certificate if the birth is registered after 1 December 2003
he and the mother have completed a parental responsibility agreement

The making of a Child Arrangements Order for parental responsibility is also another option.

It is also now possible for a step-parent to acquire parental responsibility for a child. This only applies to spouses or civil partners.

Maguire Family Law are accredited Resolution specialists.

For a consultation with a specialist family law solicitor please contact Maguire Family Law by telephone +44 (0) 1625 544650 or email: james.maguire@family-law.co.uk