Parental responsibility Definition

GLOSSARY

/pəˈrɛnt(ə)l/ /rɪˌspɒnsɪˈbɪlɪti/

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What does Parental responsibility mean?

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

The birth mother of a child will always have parental responsibility unless it is extinguished by the making of an adoption order in favour of another person. The child's father will acquire parental responsibility if married to the mother, recorded on the register of the child's birth as the father, by court order or the drawing up of an agreement with the mother (a parental responsibility agreement) which must be in a specified form and must be signed by both parents and lodged with the court. Parental responsibility can be acquired by a step parent or civil partner.

Family

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

The birth mother of a child will always have parental responsibility unless it is extinguished by the making of an adoption order in favour of another person.

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Procedural guide—leave to remove a child permanently from the jurisdiction

Procedural guide—leave to remove a child permanently from the jurisdiction Removing a child from the jurisdiction without the required consent(s) may result in an offence being committed under the Child Abduction Act 1984 (CAA 1984). See Practice Note: Child abduction—criminal action and electronic tagging. Where there is no pre-existing child arrangements order (CAO) in force that regulates living arrangements for the child, before removing the child from the jurisdiction the consent should be sought of the following: • each person with parental responsibility, and • the father (whether or not he has parental responsibility for the child) Failure to do so will run the risk of falling foul of CAA 1984 and/or the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Where there is a CAO in force that regulates the child's living arrangements, section 13 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) provides that no person may remove the child from the UK without either the written consent of every person who has parental responsibility for them or...

Procedural guide—child arrangements orders

Procedural guide—child arrangements orders This Procedural Guide sets out the steps to be taken on an application under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) for a child arrangements order (CAO). It provides information on who can apply, pre-action requirements including in relation to attendance at a mediation information and assessment meeting (MIAM), the principles applied by the court, and the provisions relating to non-court dispute resolution (NCDR), the rules regarding service and explains the requirements in relation to without notice (ex parte) applications. It looks at allocation and gatekeeping and safeguarding. It explains what may happen at the first hearing dispute resolution appointment (FHDRA) and at the dispute resolution appointment (DRA) and looks at fact-finding hearings, vulnerable witnesses and the final hearing. A CAO is one of the orders that the court can make under ChA 1989, s 8. A CAO is an order relating to: • whom a child is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact with, and • when a child is to...

Exercise of parental responsibility

Sharing parental responsibilityMore than one person may have parental responsibility for the same child at the same time.A parent does not cease to have parental responsibility solely because another person acquires it.Where those sharing parental responsibility do not agree as to its exercise, any issue may have to be resolved by the court by the making of an application for a specific issue order or a prohibited steps order.See Practice Notes: Specific issue orders and Prohibited steps orders.The right of independent actionWhere more than one person has parental responsibility for the same child, each of them may act alone and without the other in meeting that responsibility subject to any enactment that requires the consent in a matter affecting the child.The ability to act alone is subject to the limitation that a person with parental responsibility may not act in any way that would be incompatible with any order made in respect to the child under the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). Wardship also limits the freedom to exercise parental...

Acquisition of parental responsibility by step-parents and others

Step-parentsA step-parent who is married to or the civil partner of a parent of a child who has parental responsibility may apply for an order for parental responsibility or may enter into a parental responsibility agreement. The explanatory notes to the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (ACA 2002), (which inserted section 4A(1) to the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989)) state that the intention is to provide an alternative to adoption where a step-parent wishes to acquire parental responsibility for their step-child. It has the advantage of not removing parental responsibility from the other birth-parent and does not legally separate the child from membership of the family of the other birth-parent. Parental responsibility agreementStep-parents may acquire parental responsibility for their step-child by entering into a parental responsibility agreement.In relation to a parental responsibility agreement:•where both of the child's parents have parental responsibility, the agreement must be between the step-parent and the child's mother and father•where only the mother has parental responsibility, the agreement must be with her•the parties must complete a...

Discover our 236 Practice Notes on Parental responsibility

Parental responsibility—client guide

Parental responsibility—client guide This document provides general guidance regarding parental responsibility for a child. Your family lawyer will be able to provide specific advice based on your circumstances. What is parental responsibility? Parental responsibility is defined in law by 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 the child and his property.’ People with parental responsibility are entitled to have a say in major decisions about the child, such as: • where the child should live • where they should go to school • what (if any) religion the child should have • what name they should have • the giving or withholding of medical treatment, and • dealing with their money or property Parental responsibility does not entitle someone to interfere with day-to-day decisions such as what the child wears, their hobbies or choice of TV programmes etc. Generally parental responsibility lasts until the child reaches 18 but it may come to...

Explanatory note for a client’s will to spouse absolutely, then to children absolutely

Explanatory note for a client’s will to spouse absolutely, then to children absolutely FORTHCOMING CHANGE: Abolition of non-dom regime and introduction of residence-based IHT regime. At Autumn Budget 2024 on 30 October 2024, the Labour government confirmed that it will proceed with plans of the former Conservative administration to abolish the remittance basis of taxation and replace it with a residence-based regime, to commence on 6 April 2025. The government also confirmed its intention to move to a residence-based regime for inheritance tax. The changes will also affect the rules determining excluded property status, the Abolition of protected settlements status of offshore trusts, and changes to overseas workday relief. For information on these changes, including draft legislation published with Autumn Budget 2024, see: Autumn Budget 2024—Private Client analysis — International , Autumn Budget 2024 (paras 2.56 and 5.51), OOTLAR (para 1.3) and TIIN: Reforming the taxation of non-UK domiciled individuals. [Your] Will—[explanatory note] This [explanatory note] explains the main provisions of your Will. Please read this [explanatory...

Dive into our 30 Precedents related to Parental responsibility

Where a parent has parental responsibility automatically, ie other than by an order or agreement, can that parental responsibility be removed and are there any cases on this?

Where a parent has parental responsibility automatically, ie other than by an order or agreement, can that parental responsibility be removed and are there any cases on this? A mother will have parental responsibility automatically. Under section 2(6) and (9) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989), such parental responsibility cannot be removed, suspended or altered. The exception arises where an adoption order would vest parental responsibility with the adopters and so extinguish it within the biological parents; likewise if a parental order is made under section 30 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. A father will have parental responsibility automatically if: • he was married to the child’s mother at the time of birth (ChA 1989, s 2(1)), or • he was unmarried to the mother, but his name appears on the birth certificate (subject to limited exceptions) (ChA 1989, s 4(1)(a)) However, it is a moot point whether the above points are instances of it being acquired automatically since something has to be done...

Can the name of a minor be changed by an unenrolled change of name deed or is it necessary to use the formal deed poll process?

Can the name of a minor be changed by an unenrolled change of name deed or is it necessary to use the formal deed poll process? Where the parents of a child do not agree on whether a child’s name should be changed, in the absence of a child arrangements order specifying with whom a child is to live, an application to change a child's surname should be made under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) for a specific issue order or a prohibited steps order. Pursuant to ChA 1989, s 1(1) the child's welfare is the paramount consideration in such applications. In ChA 1989, s 8 applications the welfare checklist at ChA 1989, s 1(3) is applicable. Where there is a child arrangements order regulating living arrangements in place, applications for change of surname should be made by way of a freestanding application for permission under ChA 1989, s 13(1)(a). For further information about applications to change a child’s name and the factors that the court...

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Family weekly highlights—5 December 2024

This week's edition of Family weekly highlights includes details of the first Family Court annual report a decade after its establishment, new Supreme Court Practice Directions and further details of the domestic abuse protection order pilot. Recent judgments on parental orders, care orders and special guardianship orders are considered. The suite of new flowcharts added to Family practical guidance in 2024 are also set out.

Family weekly highlights—28 November 2024

This week's edition of Family weekly highlights includes details of the launch of the domestic abuse protection order pilot, Family Public Law release note 5 of 2024 and speeches by Lord Justice Jackson and Mr Justice MacDonald. A new local practice note enforcing strict adherence to the Public Law Outline in London family courts is considered. Recent judgments on the separate representation of children following a 1980 Hague Convention return decision and charging orders, interest on arrears and the application of the fixed costs regime are also set out.

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