A stepparent can play a significant role in a child’s life and be heavily involved in their childhood and carrying out ordinary daily tasks for that child. However, when it comes to making decisions regarding the child, a stepparent has no legal standing.

Do I need parental responsibility?

Parental Responsibility is defined under 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 the child and his property”. In practice, this allows someone with parental responsibility to make both important decisions in the child’s life (education, medical care, religion etc) and also day-to-day decisions too (nutrition, outings, recreation etc).

Do I have parental responsibility as a stepparent?

A stepparent has no automatic status in relation to a child and so if they want a legal relationship to the child, they must take steps to acquire it. There are several ways that this can be achieved:

• Delegation
  A spouse can simply delegate parental responsibility to a stepparent informally for a short period. This power is limited but sufficient for things such a taking a child on holiday or leaving a child in the care of the stepparent for a short time.
• Parental Responsibility Agreement
  This will grant the stepparent equal parental responsibility and so they will have the same rights, responsibilities, and authority as the child’s parent. Acquiring PR in this way does not extinguish the rights of any other parental responsibility holder, however it will require the consent of both child’s parents which is not always easy to obtain.
• Parental Responsibility Order
  If one parent with parental responsibility refuses to make an agreement to grant parental responsibility, the stepparent can apply to the court for parental responsibility through a Parental Responsibility Order. When considering whether to grant such an order the court will consider certain factors such as the welfare of the child, the existing relationship and commitment to the child, and the reasons for the application.
  Of course, this is a more complex way of obtaining parental responsibility as it involves the courts, and all those with parental responsibility can oppose the application.

• Child Arrangements Order

If a stepparent is specifically named in a Child Arrangements Order as someone wit whom the child lives, the stepparent will automatically have parental responsibility for the child.

• Adoption
  Another route to obtaining parental responsibility is by extinguishing the parental responsibility of other parties who are not married to, or in a civil partnership with, the applicant stepparent. This is only something to consider once the other parent has died, or where there is some other reason why they cannot play a meaningful role in the child’s life.

Is parental responsibility shared?

If a stepparent is granted parental responsibility, the parental responsibility is shared between the parents and all of those with parental responsibility. All parents still retain their parental responsibility, the stepparent being awarded parental responsibility doesn’t mean another parent has to lose theirs. Parental responsibility can only be revoked by the court and in only in extreme cases.

Contact us

For further information, please contact Aimee Stokes, a Family Law Solicitor based in our Wolverhampton Office on 01902 328 355.

George Green have offices based in Wolverhampton and Cradley Heath and serve clients across the West Midlands and Black Country including Stourbridge, Wolverhampton, Halesowen, Birmingham and beyond. If you complete our online enquiry form, a member of our team will contact you for an initial discussion.