Parental Responsibility Lawyer

Parental Responsibility of your child

Most of the legal rights given to parents are by way of Parental Responsibility (PR). PR means ‘all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority that a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property by law’. So a person with PR can make decisions, for example, about where the child lives, any medical treatment they require, their education such as what school they attend and any religious practices they take part in.

All mothers automatically have PR. As a father you will acquire PR providing:

• you are married to the mother at the time of the birth.
• you are not married at the time of the birth but you later marry the mother.
• you are not married and you are a father of a child who was born on or after 1st December 2003 and you are registered on the birth certificate.
• you are named in a Child Arrangements Order as having PR either because the child lives with you or spends time with you.
• you enter into a PR agreement with the mother and register it at the Principal Registry of the Family Division of the High Court.
• you obtain a court order giving you PR

Our expert solicitors can advise you fully as to whether you have PR for your child, how to acquire it if you don’t and what you should do if you are having difficulties exercising your PR.