Parental Responsibility

Parental responsibility refers to the legal rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority for a child and their property. Parental responsibility confers the right to make decisions about a child’s care and upbringing. 

When a couple who are married or in a civil partnership separate or divorce, both parents have parental responsibility for any children born to that marriage or civil partnership. Otherwise only a mother has automatic parental rights. However, the father will have the same automatic parental rights if the child was born on or after 1 December 2003 and he is named on the birth certificate or if both parents have signed a Parental Responsibility Agreement. A court can also grant parental responsibility to the father. 

In addition, it is possible for step-parents to acquire parental responsibility either by agreement or a court order. 

In any case, non-resident biological or adoptive parents are equally responsible for the financial welfare of their children and the Child Maintenance Service, a government agency responsible for calculating and collecting child maintenance, may facilitate this contribution. (Please note that the Child Support Agency or CSA ceased operation in 2017 but may still handle older cases.) Find out more about child support and maintenance. 

Parental consent

The law in England and Wales states that the consent of both parents with parental responsibility (and anyone else with parental responsibility) is required before certain steps are taken, such as changing a child’s name, emigration, circumcision or sterilisation. Only those with parental responsibility (see above) can give parental consent.  In the absence of agreement, an application can be made to court to resolve disputes between parents. 

Medical consent

Two key points to bear in mind about medical consent are: 

• A court can overrule a decision by a parent to refuse medical consent if the treatment is thought to be in the child’s best interests. 

• Provided one parent with parental responsibility gives consent for treatment the healthcare professionals can proceed with treatment, even if the other parent has declined to give consent.

Family Law Video Explainers

We have put together a series of short videos covering some of the frequently asked questions that arise and also where the law stands on some of these issues. Click here to view.