Parental responsibility means 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.
Who Has Parental Responsibility
Mothers automatically have parental responsibility. The Father of a child born after the 1st December 2003 (who is named on the birth certificate and was present when the birth was being registered) shares parental responsibility with the Mother.
Otherwise, a Father does not acquire parental responsibility unless:-
- The parents of the child are married at the time of the birth
- The parents enter a Parental Responsibility Agreement
- A Court makes a Parental Responsibility Order
- There is a Step-Parent Parental Responsibility Agreement
Parental responsibility is retained even if the parents separate and regardless of who the child lives with.
Any other person who has a relevant Court Order, such as a Child Arrangements Order for the child to live with them will automatically acquire parental responsibility for as long as the Order is in force.
We have the necessary expertise to help and guide you through the process if either you wish to obtain parental responsibility or you are concerned about the manner with which a person is exercising parental responsibility.
Child Relocation and Holidays
Resolving Disputes Over Where Your Children Live
Child Relocation Law is a complex area of children law and requires particular expertise. Venters Solicitors have a specialist team of solicitors who are experts in this area of Children Law. Child relocation law is sometimes referred to as leave to remove or permission to remove a child abroad. Internal relocation relates to a child being relocated within the jurisdiction of England and Wales and international child relocation relates to a relocation abroad.
If you are separated from your children’s parent, disputes can arise over who has the right to take your child or children on holiday or to live abroad.
The type of situations which the Court can decide in relation to Child Relocation is as follows:-
- Who can take your child or children on holiday (temporary removal from the jurisdiction of England and Wales)
- Who can relocate the child or children to another country (permanent removal from the jurisdiction of England and Wales)
If there is a Child Arrangements Order which has decided with whom the child should live or if there is a Residence Order in place, then the parent with whom the child lives does not need the permission of the other parent for a trip abroad for a period of less than one month. However, it is advisable to always inform the other parent of a planned trip and if they do not agree, then your intentions should be put in writing, preferably by a lawyer to ensure that if problems arise in the future and there is any uncertainty about either your intentions or the notification you gave to the other parent, this will help clarify matters.
What Happens if you do not Apply for Permission?
If a parent takes the child or children abroad, whether on holiday or permanently without the permission of everyone with parental responsibility or the Court, then they will be committing the civil and criminal offence of Child Abduction. This means they could face fines, Unpaid Work Order or a prison sentence. They could also be the subject of International child abduction proceedings. Therefore it is essential that you follow the correct procedure as outlined above and if there is any doubt or uncertainty or opposition to your planned intentions that you seek immediate legal advice.
As with all areas of Children Law we have the necessary expertise to help and guide you through the process. We have a team of specialist Children Law solicitors here to help.
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