Parental Responsibility

[Trix]

Due to the kind concern of the situation my partner and I have (together 11 years, 2 kids, not married), I've finally started the process of making sure he has legal responsibility for them. This means he will be able to sign medical forms, school trip forms etc.

For anyone in the same position, this web site:
http://www.fnf.org.uk/fnfindex.htm#
has a form that can be printed off and instructions of what to do with it.
Or the court order site:
http://www.courtservice.gov.uk/cms/media/c(pra)(9.01).pdf
has a form.

Got to take the form to County court now. Not sure how to go about this but I'll make some phone calls.

[Fran]

Just to clarify Parental Responsibility, this is a quote from http://www.justask.org.uk

"If the child's father is not married to the mother at the time of the child's birth, the only person having PR for the child is the MOTHER. That situation continues until the father acquires PR either by entering a legal PR agreement with the mother or obtaining a PR order from a court. The unmarried father in addition to applying for PR can apply for the whole range of orders relating to a child's welfare. "

I have heard/read that the situation is going to change so that unmarried fathers will have the same rights as unmarried mothers.

[Trix]

There has been a change in the law for new fathers.

Quote from:
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/12274.html

'New unmarried fathers got some good news on 1 December 2003.

From this date the law changed giving them new rights, known as “parental responsibility” where they are registered on the birth certificate as their child’s father.'

My kids both have my partners name on their birth certificates and he was there when their births were registered, but this new law unfortunately isn't retrospective. The strange thing is that when we registered our first daughters birth - I still had my maiden name so her surname was the same as her fathers but not her mothers !:-/

[Fran]

Trix, your link doesn't work for me, can you check it?

[Little_Star]

Its just missing the ml from the end :)

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/12274.html

[Trix]

Whoops - was in a rush when I did that! Thanks Little_Star for helping out Fran :-*

[Mrs Thrift]

"Due to the kind concern of the situation my partner and I have (together 11 years, 2 kids, not married), I've finally started the process of making sure he has legal responsibility for them. This means he will be able to sign medical forms, school trip forms etc. "

That's good news, Trix! Hope it's not too much hassle with all the forms and such.

Ms T.

[Fran]

There has been a change in the law for new fathers.

Quote from:
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/12274.html

'New unmarried fathers got some good news on 1 December 2003.

From this date the law changed giving them new rights, known as “parental responsibility” where they are registered on the birth certificate as their child’s father.'

My kids both have my partners name on their birth certificates and he was there when their births were registered, but this new law unfortunately isn't retrospective. The strange thing is that when we registered our first daughters birth - I still had my maiden name so her surname was the same as her fathers but not her mothers !:-/


MC - Trix's quote says that the new law isn't retrospective, so if you aren't married and had your baby before December 1st 2003, you haven't got automatic parental responsibility.

[Judi]

Fran,

I must say, its good to have you around. Your a useful source of information!!!

[mistral]

My post removed and some more reading to do , I was lied to a bit by the registrar on this one .

Seeing as I hate the idea of marriage so much it does now cause me some concern !

In fact I have the right hump anyway over this issue , who the hell thinks the woman is the best person to look after the child !

I hate this form of sexism within law .


An unmarried father has, until recently, only been able to acquire parental responsibility either by written agreement, making an application to the Court or by marrying the child’s mother.


So how does the written consent part work ?


Thank you for bringing this thread up and let me know how you get on , still trying to find the right form to download

[Fran]

MC - You don't have to get married!! !:)I agree about the mother/father issue, but it's been changed now! :) Unfortunately if it doesn't apply to you that's of no use !:(. However, if you read Trix's original post on this page, she has already got court forms etc. and gives the links. As long as the mother agrees it is straightforward. :)

You're doing what I do and modifying after 10 minutes having thought of something else! I missed the second part of your post - have a look at Trix's links or why not send her a pm as she's going through the same thing?

Or - very old fashioned I know - why not ring your local court?

[vanoonoo]

the law is an !!! on this one, although originally it was put in place (by nmen for men) to prevent claims on paternity (prior to dna testing and effect contraception) so if at the time of birth you didn't agree to being the father then you couldn't be registered on the birth certificate, in addition you actually had to turn up at the registry to appear on the certificate if you and the mother weren't married!

Thankfully parental responsibility rights have changed now (part of what those superdads on the m25 were demonstrating for).

It's actually a really simple process now to get the rights too and needn't involve solicitors.

Good luck everyone going through it. I helped my neighbour with the paperwork this time last year and it really isn't very complex if you both agree and can demonstrate who you are and that you are the parent.

[mistral]

Ok big thanks , form downloaded and filled in .

Then take it in to any County court with relevant paperwork and it is completed free of charge .


This will be done this week !

[Fran]

....can demonstrate who you are and that you are the parent.


Oh dear! MC might have a problem there as he has said elsewhere how good he is at hiding his identity!! Just sign yourself as "MC" and show them a picture of your avatar MC!! ;)

[mistral]

I only hide it online but if you want my ip address now I have not scrambled it today as it slows the system down .

It is not that hard to hide yourself a little when on line but when you think how many credit cards I have I am hardly hidden !!!

I will have to educate the registrar who informed me I was legally covered when I registered his birth !!!


The link for the form is here

http://www.courtservice.gov.uk/cms/media/c(pra)(9.01).pdf

[Fran]

Info re Parental Responsibility:

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/12274.html

[mini]

A worthy point I feel on this, mini goes to put benefit head on......

How much money will you get if you have children & either you or your partner dies? You are likely to get less money if you are not married.

The following link may be worth looking at...

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/widowed_parents_allowance.asp

Whilst I wouldn't recommend yusing this information in a proposal for marriage it's worth thinking about.


I feel really miserable for mentioning it, hope nobody takes offence.

mini

[Fran]

Note it does not apply in Scotland. As usual there is not enough information forthcoming from the government about this benefit. How does it affect Income Support for example? What is the actual cash gain from it if you are on Income Support and other benefits? Also on the website it says "Minimum Income Guarantee" and when you click it, it leaps to "Pension Credit". If you haven't heard of either it's pretty confusing. ???

[mini]

The purpose of the benefit was to provide entitlement for widowed fathers, previously it was only women who could claim.
The benefit is not affected by money received from work, i was merely pointing out the governements financial provision only applies to married couples & given how long it took them to pay anything to widowed fathers it may be quite some time before they change it for couples living together.

[trafalgar]

This may make interesting reading for some


I have read through these posts with interest because of the situation my friend was in

If I understand it right some fathers who have their names on their childs birth certificates ,but werent married to the mother at the time have to apply for parental rights

That changed if your child was born after 1/12/2003


My friends situation is this
She had a child
was not married to the father
father disputed child was his
csa did test 6yrs later (could not find him)
proved paternity
father shocked ,surprised, happy
registered as father (it was blank)
now has full parental rights because details were entered after 1/12/2003

surely if that can happen it should of been made retrospective for all those fathers who were there for their kids

[Fran]

Yes, but unfortunately it is not retrospective, but they can still register for Parental Responsibility either by entering into an agreement with the mother or through the court which is a simple enough procedure providing the mother doesn't object and there are reasons why he shouldn't.

[trafalgar]

Yes, but unfortunately it is not retrospective, but they can still register for Parental Responsibility either by entering into an agreement with the mother or through the court which is a simple enough procedure providing the mother doesn't object and there are reasons why he shouldn't.
Fran
Did you mean "No reasons why he shouldn't"


However it still means the law is an !!!

[Fran]

Yes, no! ;)


What I meant to say is Yes, Yes!

[jo_b]

Thought I'd bump this thread up a bit as there is still some confusion about the issue of parental responsibility. Hope this is useful to someone.

[Sarahsaver]

Thanks this thread is great, very informative and im sure helpful to a lot of people.
Anyone know by the way if you could get parental responsibility for a child if they already have 2 parents with PR? For example one parent absent and the parent with care has a new partner? How would this work?
Id hate the thought that my ex could walk back in to my kids lives and legally have a say in their medical treatment or schooling >:(

[Trix]

Unfortunately - as far as I know - if your ex was married to you when your child was born or has gained parental responsibility by the ways given on this thread, they still continue to hold their rights to a say in the childs upbringing until the child is 18.

The FAMILIES NEED FATHERS (http://www.fnf.org.uk/pro.htm) site states:

'If you are married both you and your spouse will automatically have Parental Responsibility. You both share that responsibility until your children reach the age of 18 (unless ended by a Court Order).'

and:

'Parental Responsibility is defined in the Children Act 1989 as:

"All the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to a child and his property." '

Might be best to get professional advice on this before any problem happens.

[trafalgar]

Anyone know by the way if you could get parental responsibility for a child if they already have 2 parents with PR? (
Yes it is possible..............but only in certain circumstances and it is give through a court.

http://www.thompsons.law.co.uk/ltext/fsfam008.htm

Scroll down to this section

"Other people who might acquire parental responsibility"

The childs father as you were married retains it also and this cannot be revoked except by a court...........but this is very rarely done......however a court can revoke /limit his rights to make decisions about schooling etc .......

[jockettuk]

being married and having parental responsability doesnt mean the father will take a interest..yes children need fathers but some fathers need to have a kick up the backside and take some parental responsiblity.. once a fortnight isnt responsible..

after my divorce and now both of us have met others my partner takes all responsibilty for my daughter but for him to have so called parental rights he has to adopt her but her dad wont allow that ... catch 22 me thinks .. her school knows my partner but i had to write a letter for them to let her go home with him.. her dad technically could fetch her from school without any written consent as he has parental rights...

each case i feel is different in some way or other.. I dont want my daughter to stop seeing her father but i cant force him to see her more..

[jellyhead]

hmmm ... when i registered my son in 96 i was told by the registrar that if the father was named on the birth certificate he would have PR, even though we were not married. looks like she was telling porky pies!