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A good father trying to do the right thing.

124

Comments

  • Hi,

    Just received this via email:

    Thank you for contacting the Centre for Separated Families and my apologies for the slight delay in responding.
    As crazy as it seems, it would appear that you don't currently have parental responsibility for your daughter as joint registration rules only count from 1 December 2003 and you were not married at the time of your daughter's birth.
    In England and Wales, if the parents of a child are married to each other at the time of the birth, or if they have jointly adopted a child, then they both have parental responsibility. Parents do not lose parental responsibility if they divorce, and this applies to both the resident and the non-resident parent.
    This is not automatically the case for unmarried parents. According to current law, a mother always has parental responsibility for her child. A father, however, has this responsibility only if he is married to the mother when the child is born or has acquired legal responsibility for his child through one of these three routes:
    • (from 1 December 2003) by jointly registering the birth of the child with the mother
    • by a parental responsibility agreement with the mother
    • by a parental responsibility order, made by a court

    I`m pretty gutted about it, is this really true? Would i have to pay CSA for her if i don`t have PR? She is my daughter and i want to provide for her..

    Cheers,
  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 36,128 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Hi

    You can get PR by going to court. You do not necessarily need a solicitor to do this.

    Are you married to your ex?
    If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing
  • DUTR
    DUTR Posts: 12,958 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    AnotherDad wrote: »
    Hi,

    Just received this via email:

    Thank you for contacting the Centre for Separated Families and my apologies for the slight delay in responding.
    As crazy as it seems, it would appear that you don't currently have parental responsibility for your daughter as joint registration rules only count from 1 December 2003 and you were not married at the time of your daughter's birth.
    In England and Wales, if the parents of a child are married to each other at the time of the birth, or if they have jointly adopted a child, then they both have parental responsibility. Parents do not lose parental responsibility if they divorce, and this applies to both the resident and the non-resident parent.
    This is not automatically the case for unmarried parents. According to current law, a mother always has parental responsibility for her child. A father, however, has this responsibility only if he is married to the mother when the child is born or has acquired legal responsibility for his child through one of these three routes:
    • (from 1 December 2003) by jointly registering the birth of the child with the mother
    • by a parental responsibility agreement with the mother
    • by a parental responsibility order, made by a court

    I`m pretty gutted about it, is this really true? Would i have to pay CSA for her if i don`t have PR? She is my daughter and i want to provide for her..

    Cheers,

    It is true and yes you have to (or supposed to) pay CS even if you don't have PR. :o
  • I have no issue with paying maintenance, she`s my daughter and i want to provide for her. As for the PR i`m gutted, i have no say in anything the mother decides. Looks like it`ll be £140 just to get that arranged and she could still deny.

    Lifes not great at the moment :(

    Cheers,
  • shell_542
    shell_542 Posts: 1,333 Forumite
    Anotherdad, I don't think you've answered yet. Were you ever married to the Mother?

    You can make an application to court for PR if she refuses to sign the PR agreement which you should ask her first. It costs £200 and can't see any reason why you wouldnt get it automatically. It's really low of her to use this as a stick to beat you with.
    August GC 10th - 10th : £200 / £70.61
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  • Hi,

    Yes it is, so far everything has been raised. Not nice.

    Yup, we married June 2008, my name was put on the birth certificate August 2003.

    Cheers,
  • jjj1980
    jjj1980 Posts: 581 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 28 January 2011 at 3:05PM
    sorry posted a reply, meant to post a new thread!!
  • mrsspendalot
    mrsspendalot Posts: 3,238 Forumite
    edited 28 January 2011 at 3:09PM
    AnotherDad wrote: »
    As crazy as it seems, it would appear that you don't currently have parental responsibility for your daughter as joint registration rules only count from 1 December 2003 and you were not married at the time of your daughter's birth.

    I would question this

    According to these solicitors websites:

    http://www.solicitorssheffield.net/unmarried-fathers-rights.html

    There are a number of ways of getting PR. These are:
    • Entering into a voluntary parental responsibility agreement with the mother
    • Marrying the mother
    • Applying to the court to obtain a parental responsibility order
    • Obtaining a residence order
    • Being appointed as the child’s guardian

    http://www.family-lawfirm.co.uk/Children/Parental-rights.aspx

    Parental responsibility can be gained by:
    • marrying the mother of your child
    • entering into a voluntary Parental Responsibility Agreement with the mother
    • obtaining a Parental Responsibility Order from the court.
    And on here:

    http://www.dad.info/expecting/legal-stuff/parental-responsibility-you-and-the-law
    1. If the certificate relates to a birth before this date and you're not married, then don't despair - there are a number of ways that you can get Parental Responsibility. They are, as follows:
      • Marry the mother.
      • Re-register the birth
    ...or finally
    • Become the child's guardian upon the mother's death.
    http://www.spainwilliams.com/family/2006/08/parental_respon.html

    There are four ways of obtaining Parental Responsibility. They are:-
    1. Marrying the child's mother.
    2. Signing and registering a Parental Responsibility Agreement with the child's mother.
    3. Obtaining a Parental Responsibility Order from the Court.
    4. Obtaining a Residence Order from the Court (and automatically obtaining Parental Responsibility).
    If you intend to get married anyway then you will gain Parental Responsibility without any further documentation.

    And you did marry the mother after the birth! So you got it at that point.

    I would take further advice from a family law solicitor or the CAB
    Olympic Countdown Challenge #145 ~ DFW Nerd #389 ~ Debt Free Date: [STRIKE]December 2015[/STRIKE] September 2015

    :j BabySpendalot arrived 26/6/11 :j
  • Hi,

    Since last post have spoken to the wife directly about if i do not have PR would be reject any application i make. I was told in certain terms that if the children ever get upset then theirs no reason for me not to see them and that i should trust her to do the right thing for them. I`m guessing basically `NO. Would this cost to fight or would the court just pass it anyway?

    Cheers,
  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 36,128 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    You could certainly represent yourself. I am actually guessing that if you got a single solicitor's letter, she would back off fast. Cost about £50-75 ish.

    Beyond that, I am sure groups like Families need Fathers would help.
    If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing
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