Legal Guardianship Before and After Divorce

[JugglingNStruggling]

I presume that I am a legal guardian of my children when I am married and their father, correct me if I am wrong.
Was I a legal guardian of my child (born out of wedlock) before I was married and living with my partner at the time?
Am I still a legal guardian when I am divorced?
Does it matter whether I am the Primary carer or not?

Then the question, am I alllowed to open a Bank/Building Society letter addressed to my 6 year old at my address?
Or would I be committing mail fraud?

Ok, you and your dc's father have equal parental responsibility if you were married.

You have parental responsibility for your child out of wedlock, and your ex p also has it if you entered into a PR agreement, or if the child's birth was registered with him named on the cert. after 1st December 2003.

You do not need legal guardianship as you are the natural mother.

Of course you can open a bank letter addressed to your six year old.

I have just added to my profile that I am male
I have not been trying to masquerade as female
so to reclarify some of my questions, because I don't know if it makes any difference

I presume that I am a legal guardian of my children as their father and am on the relevant birth certificates etc,,,
was married, now divorced
Was I one of their legal guardians before marriage?
Was I one of their their legal guardians during marriage?
And now am I one of their legal guardians after marriage?
Does it matter whether I am the Primary carer or not?
I have shared custody, but am not regarded as the Primary carer

And the follow up question, am I alllowed to open a Bank/Building Society letter addressed to my 6 year old at my address?
Or would I be committing mail fraud?

Forget guardianship.

You have PR for your children, and always had it and will not lose it unless (and this never happens in practice) the mother succeeds in an application to the court to remove your PR.

You say you have shared residence (it isn't called custody since 1989 Children Act came in), and unless there's some reason you haven't mentioned, of course you can open your 6 yr old's bank statement. Are you a trustee on the account or his mum? I guess if she's the trustee on the account for him, and you've never paid money into it then as a matter of courtesy you shouldn't open it.

thanks for your replies
clarifying
I do have shared residency about 3 days a week

I opened the account in dc's name and was the sole trustee, and have put birthday money in and christmas money in from my parents etc...

Dc has another account at same branch, the sole trustee of which is my ex

I thought it would be a good idea to combine the accounts rather have 2 and so transferred the monies from dc's account I was trustee of to dc's account my ex is trustee of

I then get a letter addressed to dc explaining, which is the letter I opened.
When I rang up to clarify some point, I was told that I was committing mail fraud if I opened a letter addressed to somebody else other than myself, even though I explained dc was 6 and I was the father

This is not a bun fight between my ex and myself, we get on reasonably well on most things to do with the kids

Oh, I see.

The bank clerk is being a prat.

I really wouldn't worry about the police knocking your door down about this . I opened ds's bank statements etc till he was about 12, he was utterly rubbish at managing his money and still is till then.

thanks
Just had another letter from same bs, their official stance "strictly speaking....." is nobody other than the named recipient should open the letter, with
"however, in these circumstances, we wouldn't mind etc....."
and today "data protection" was cited!
I give up