Parental Responsibility - what can and can't I do?

Most parents will exercise their Parental Responsibility day to day without realising. However, when parents separate, it can become at the forefront of their minds. There are many misconceptions about what Parental Responsibility entitles a parent to do; particularly if the separated parents do not agree. 

Whilst a mother will always, automatically have Parental Responsibility for a child when they are born; the same is not true for Father’s. There are several ways that a Father can acquire Parental Responsibility, such as: 

a. Being married to the mother at the time of the child’s birth 

b. Being named on the birth certificate for the child 

c. Entering into a Parental Responsibility agreement with the mother 

d. Obtaining a court order to acquire parental responsibility 

If two or more people share Parental Responsibility, you are able to exercise your Parental Responsibility to make routine day-to-day decisions without obtaining the consent of the other Parental Responsibility holders each time. The Children Act 1989 makes clear that “where more than one person has parental responsibility for a child, each of them may act alone and without the other (or others) in meeting that responsibility”. 

Many people may choose to exercise their PR in different ways, and make different decisions, as to what they think is best for their child.  Whilst the child is in your care,  you should be able to exercise your PR in the way that you think is best (even if it is not what the other parent would have done).

However, it would be incorrect to assume that you can make major decisions without consulting the other PR holders.  Major decisions such as changing schools, moving abroad or changing surnames should only be made when an agreement has been reached between all parties.

If an agreement cannot be reached about the best way to proceed when making a major decision, an application to the court would have to be made. 

Contact us If you have any further questions regarding parental responsibility and decisions concerning your children, please do not hesitate to contact our expert Family Lawyers.  We have offices based in Wolverhampton and

Cradley Heath and serve clients across the West Midlands and Black Country.  If you complete our online enquiry form, a member of our team will contact you for an initial discussion.

Alternatively contact Mark Vandaele, Head of Family Law, on 01902 796930 - We are offering remote appointments due to the Covid19 outbreak.