Parental Responsibility – a definition
It might seem logical that the parents of a child should have parental responsibility, but that is not always the case.
As you would expect, the child’s birth mother has parental responsibility. However, parental responsibility might be removed from the birth mother by an adoption order or by a parental order following surrogacy.
If the child’s father and mother were married to each other at the time of the child’s birth, they each have parental responsibility. If the parents were not married to each other at the time of the birth, the father can gain parental responsibility by:
- Registering the birth jointly with the mother
- Subsequently marrying the child’s mother
- Through a “parental responsibility agreement” between the father and the child’s mother that is registered with the court
- By obtaining a court order for parental responsibility.
Where two female parents have a child through fertility treatment, the mother’s female partner is treated in the same way as the father. Civil partners also have parallel parental responsibility rights to married people. It is possible for a legal parent not to have parental responsibility and for someone to have parental responsibility without being a legal parent.
What is parental responsibility?
Section 3 of the Children Act 1989 defines parental responsibility 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.”
Parental responsibility confers a range of legal rights and duties. These include:
- Naming the child
- Providing a home for the child
- Ensuring the child's wellbeing
- Protecting the child
- Consenting to the child's medical treatment
- Deciding the child's education
- Agreeing to any change of name
- Looking after the child's property
- Disciplining the child
In other words, parental responsibility allows you to make day to day decisions for the child. It does not give someone a right to spend time with the child if they do not live with them. However, where those with parental rights do not live together, the other parent must be consulted when making important decisions about the child’s life.
Surrogacy
A surrogate mother is the child’s legal mother at birth. Who the second legal parent is at birth depends on the circumstances. The intended parents need a “parental order” from the courts after the child is born. A parental order confers both legal parenthood and parental responsibility on the intended parents.
When does parental responsibility end?
Parental responsibility in the UK usually comes to an end on the child’s 18th birthday. However, it can end earlier if:
- The child gets married between the ages of 16 and 18
- There is an adoption order that overrides the birth parents’ responsibilities
- In the case of surrogacy, a parental order has been granted
- The court terminates the individual’s parental rights if, for example, the parent poses a threat to the child’s welfare
- A person with parental responsibility dies
The court can also restrict a person’s parental responsibility by making an order to limit their rights whilst not terminating the parental responsibility completely.