Parental Responsibility Guide and Letters

This is our first guide and letter template pack, in a series of six. It is intended to help you understand Parental Responsibility and the rights and responsibilities that come with it. In addition when you download there are 12 letters which you can adapt to use in a whole host of circumstances.

The guide includes comprehensive detail on numerous Parental Responsibility considerations and issues including:

• What Parental Responsibility is, how long it lasts and can it be taken away
• How to obtain Parental Responsibility
• Parental Responsibility agreements and orders
• Decisions made by you/your ex and what to do if you don't agree
• When your child is old enough to make certain decisions
• Mediation
• Specific issue orders and prohibited steps orders

If you want to download this guide (for example to print it off),

You can you can do so here. Or you can read it below:

Parental Responsibility (PR) is the term used to describe the rights, authority, powers, responsibilities and duties parents can have when it comes to looking after their children.

PR encompasses all of the decisions parents make for their children throughout their childhood. There is no exhaustive list of what these responsibilities, rights, duties and powers are, but they can include:

• Naming the child
• Raising the child is a safe and secure environment
• Making decisions on any religious or cultural upbringing
• Deciding where and how a child is to be educated and having access to his or her school reports and records
• Access to a child's medical records and making decisions regarding any medical treatment they may need to undergo
• Deciding where a child will live
• Ensuring that the child is suitably fed and clothed
• Disciplining the child
• Taking the child outside England and Wales and consenting to the child's emigration
• Consenting to a child entering marriage aged 16 or 17 years

Note:
* More than one person can have PR at any given time.* All adults with PR have an equal say in the child's upbringing.

Do I Have a Right To Parental Responsibility?

Fathers do not really have a specific right to see their children or to have PR. Instead, the law focuses on PR and the rights and duties it gives a parent.
PR is a legal status that means you have a duty and the authority to look after your child.
PR gives you a right to contribute towards the upbringing of your child in a safe and secure environment.

If you have PR, this does not mean you can override the mother's wishes and decisions, or her right to make everyday decisions concerning the child. Mothers and fathers should try to agree on decisions regarding the child together. If major issues cannot be agreed upon, you will most likely end up in court and a judge will determine the outcome.

It should be noted that once or if you have PR, you do not obtain any extra rights to see your child.

Do I Have Parental Responsibility?

In the UK, mothers always have automatic PR for their children. Fathers however, do not necessarily have PR.

Married to Child's Mother: If you were married to your child's mother at the time your child was born, or you subsequently marry the mother of your child, you will automatically have acquired PR. You will not lose PR if you and your (ex) wife later divorce. Once acquired, PR is permanent.

Unmarried and child born after 1/12/2003:If you were unmarried when your child was born, and he or she was born on or after 01 December 2003, and you are named on the birth certificate, you will automatically have PR. (You should note that you will be unable to register your name on the birth certificate without the mother's express permission.)

Residence Order:If you have a Residence Order determining where and with whom the child is to live with, you will automatically have acquired PR, if you do not already have it. It is not possible to have a residence order without also having PR. PR will continue until the order ceases, if it is obtained as a result of a residence order.

If I don't have parental responsibility how can I get it?

There are two ways of obtaining PR for your child, if you do not acquire it automatically:

1. A Parental responsibility agreement

If you want to play an active part in the decision making throughout your child's upbringing and be entitled to help make important decisions, you can enter into a 'Parental Responsibility Agreement' with the mother.

A Parental Responsibility Agreement bestows PR upon you, regardless of the fact that you are no longer in a relationship with the mother. A Parental Responsibility Agreement is a legal agreement which must be signed by both the mother and yourself.

You will need to complete form CPRA (1) parental responsibility agreement (the signatures need to be filled in in black ink) before you go to court. You then need to go to your local Family Proceedings Court, County Court, or the Principal Registry of the Family Division in London, with the child's mother, so that both of your signatures can be witnessed by an authorised member of court staff.

The child's mother must take along the child's full birth certificate to prove that she is her mother. Both you and the mother will also need to take photographic and signature ID, such as a passport or your full driving licence.

When your completed application form has been witnessed, you have to send the original paperwork along with two photocopies to: The Principal Registry of the Family Division, First Avenue House, 42-49 High Holborn, London, WC1 6NP.

Once this has been processed, you and the child's mother will each receive a sealed copy of the agreement and the original will remain at court on the court file. The agreement will take effect when it is recorded in London.

You should seek legal advice from a solicitor where possible, before entering into such an agreement.

2. A Parental responsibility order

If the child's mother does not agree to you having PR for the child, you could apply for a 'Parental Responsibility Order' through the courts. This order will state that a specific named person, i.e. you, have PR for your child. It is then shared between yourself and the child's mother, and any other person that has PR for your child.

You will need to show that you are the child's father before PR is granted and will most likely be directed to apply for a 'declaration of parentage' to confirm that you are the father.

If you apply through the courts, the judge will want to be clear on why you want to have PR and will look at a number of things, including:

• Your relationship with the child
• How you already provide for the child, financially, physically and emotionally
• How you want to be able to provide for the child in the future
• Your reasons for wanting PR
• What is in the child's best interests

Can I have parental responsibility for my child even if he/she does Not live with me?

The short answer is yes!

If you have PR, you have a right to be involved in your child's upbringing, even if he or she does not live with you anymore. Where your child lives is irrelevant to your PR status.

The child's mother make the decisions regarding his or her everyday life, such as bed times, mealtimes, watching television, attendances at clubs etc and you cannot tell her how to make these more minor decisions. But for other more important things, such as which school your child goes to, what medical treatment he or she has, what religion if any they follow and so on, you have the same right to making decisions as the mother.

Are there any limitations on the decisions I can make by myself?

PR is shared equally between every person with PR for the child. Theoretically, an individual with PR can make decisions about the child on their own if it is necessary and reasonable, given the circumstances.

Parent with day to day care, makes 'everyday' decisions: The parent with the day to day care of the child, whether this is the mother or father, will make the everyday decisions about the child, and should not be prevented from doing so by the non-resident parent.

Important decisions need permission from anyone else with PR: You cannot make important decisions about the upbringing of your child without permission from all other persons with PR, unless they delegate all of their power to you. Such important decisions include changing your child's surname, consenting to their marriage or adoption, and deciding whether he or she emigrates to another country.

You should consult the child's mother regarding any important decisions, in order to save recourse to the courts if / when disagreements arise. Once a decision has been made by the court, everyone with PR must do exactly what the judge has ordered and the power to make decisions for yourself will have been taken away from you. It should be noted that the court is very unlikely to want to interfere in the more minor and trivial decisions that parents should be able to agree upon between themselves.

When the child is old enough to make certain decisions:As your child gets older, he or she may want to make decisions for themselves. If they have the capacity do so, your full input and PR may diminish. This does not mean that you no longer have PR, but that your child is competent to make certain decisions on their own. It is therefore important to include your child in making important decisions as they get older. If you don't and the matter ends up in court, the courts could deem the child able to make the decision without your permission if he or she fully understands the situation. Simply put, if your child is capable of consenting, they have a right to be consulted over important decisions regarding their upbringing.

PR includes the right to refuse and/or consent to medical treatment for your child. However, if a doctor does not believe that the parents' decision is in the best interests of the child, he can make an application to the courts. Medical decision-making is one area that can place limits on your powers and rights.

What happens if I don't agree with decisions my ex-spouse/partner is making?

If you and your ex-wife or ex-partner disagree over the decisions surrounding the upbringing of your child, there are several ways of resolving them.

The most cost effective and straight forward way would be to resolve the matter directly between yourselves, each explaining their views and trying to reach a mutual decision.

Mediation:

If this does not work, you could attend mediation at a family mediation centre. Mediation is a way of resolving disputes without recourse to the courts. Typically, a mediator will help the parties to negotiate a settlement, without telling them what to do. You will maintain control of the proceedings and be able to reach a mutually satisfactory decision with your ex-partner. Mediation is completely confidential.

Specific issue order or prohibited steps order:

An alternative way of resolving issues is by going to court. You can either make an application for a 'Specific Issue Order' or a 'Prohibited Steps Order'.

A Specific Issue Order - allows the court to make decisions about issues that have arisen in connection with the exercise of PR. They usually relate to major aspects of a child's upbringing.

A Prohibited Steps Order - allows the court to make a ruling preventing one person with PR from doing a certain thing, such as changing the child's surname without the father's permission. It would then be the case that the specific step would only be allowed to be taken with the court's permission.

A specific issue order or prohibited steps order can only be made in relation to child under the age of 16 years.

How long does parental responsibility last for?

PR automatically comes to an end when the child reaches 18 years of age. At this point, the child will become an adult and can make their own decisions about their future. A PR Order from the court will also end automatically when the child reaches 18 years of age.

If PR is given to you through the implementation of a residence order, your PR will come to an end when the residence order ends.

Can my parental responsibility be taken away from me?

It is extremely difficult to remove PR from a parent once they have acquired it.

If you were unmarried and gained PR by the registration of your name as the father on your child's birth certificate, it can only be removed by a court order, a court application by another adult with PR for the child, or the child's own application if he or she is old enough to understand the proceedings and their implications.

Occasionally, a PR order or parental responsibility agreement can be brought to an end by the court, but the welfare of the child will be the judge's first and foremost consideration when deciding whether to do this or not. PR is usually only removed from a parent if there is risk of serious harm or injury to the child.

To accompany this guide, we have a series of letter templates for you to use.

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