An important change for unmarried couples in England and Wales (Nov 2003)
Note: This does not apply to births registered before 1 December 2003.
the right to be responsible for your child
The law changed on 1 December 2003 to make it easier for unmarried fathers to get equal parental responsibility: all you have to do is for both parents to register the birth of your baby together.
Parental responsibility for your child gives you important legal rights as well as responsibilities. Without it, you don't have any right to be involved in decisions such as where they live, their education, religion or medical treatment. With parental responsibility, you are treated in law as the child's parent, and you take equal responsibility for bringing them up.
Unlike mothers and married fathers, if you are not married to your baby's mother you do not automatically have parental responsibility for them.
Before this change, you could only gain parental responsibility by later marrying the child's mother, signing an official agreement with the mother or getting a court order. You can still get responsibility in these ways - you might want to think about this if you have other children.
See also Amendments of The Children Act 1989
Those in Northern Ireland were lucky enough to have this law come into force on 17th July 2001, however those in Scotland are unfortunately still waiting.
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FNF recommends that unmarried fathers acquire Parental Responsibility (PR). The father will then have virtually the same rights in bringing up the child as enjoyed by married fathers. PR is automatic for married parents, even if divorced, and also for unmarried mothers. In 1994 32% of children in England were born to parents who were not married to each other at the time of birth. PR confers equal status on both parents. Schools, doctors, hospitals or clergymen should therefore continue to regard the non-residential parent as a parent and deal with him on an equal footing with the residential parent.
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). If you are an unmarried father you do not have Parental Responsibility automatically. However, you can obtain PR by registering a legally binding written agreement, subject to the mother's consent. If the mother refuses her consent then an unmarried father can seek Parental Responsibility by making an application to the Court.
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."
Without PR unmarried fathers face many problems including the following:
you may be excluded as respondent in court applications which affect your child
e.g. contact by relatives, care applications by a Local Authority, adoption;
your child's surname may be changed without your consent;
appointment of a guardian in the event of the death of the parents.
Examples of shared responsibility were made by Wall J in the case A v A [2004] 1 FLR 1195 .
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How to obtain Parental Responsibility
The father can obtain PR by:-
Registering the birth together, with the mother (only applies to births registered after 1 December 2003);
Parental Responsibility Agreement. This is a legal document which the mother must sign. It must be witnessed and filed with the Principal Registry (0207 947 6936);
Parental Responsibility Order (PRO). The father can apply to the court for an order if the mother refuses to make a PR agreement;
Residence Order. This confers Parental Responsibility automatically;
Marriage to the child's mother.