Who gets parental responsibility automatically?
Parental responsibility is automatically granted to biological mothers. Biological fathers who are married to the mother at the time the child was born also have it. Adoptive parents who jointly adopt a child both have parental responsibility.
Neither parent loses parental responsibility through divorce.
Living with the mother, regardless of length of time, does not give a biological father parental responsibility if they were not married at the time of birth. Also, if the mother dies and she was not married to the father, parental responsibility does not always pass to him.
Biological fathers of children born after 1st December 2003 in England and Wales who are named on the birth certificate also have parental responsibility. The law varies slightly for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Visit the Directgov website for detailed information on parental responsibility in each country.
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whether the father was married to the mother
whether he is shown on the birth certificate as the father
if there is a parental responsibility agreement
if he has been awarded parental responsibility by the court
if anyone else has been named as guardian
I know that if the father is not registered as such on the birth certificate and doesn't have a parental responsibility agreement/order, it is damn near impossible for them to challenge the mother's choice of guardian after her death, to get residence or even contact.
A friend was told by his solicitor to put his house on the market if he wanted to challenge his ex's choice of her parents as guardians, because the fees would run into 6 figures. They had never been married, and he was overseas when the child was born, so wasn't on the birth certificate (although he could have been added later, but he didn't know that).
About two years after they separated, she became very ill and died within a few weeks of diagnosis. She had appointed her parents as guardians and they won't let him see his son, because they blame him for her death. He's currently going through the courts to get an order for DNA testing to establish paternity, then he may apply for a parental responsibility order.
I think you need proper legal advice, it can be an absolute minefield.
In this case there is no-one in the family stopping him from having PR. The mother has died and there is no-one with PR to sign forms etc.
If it automatically went to the biological father, then he could sign these forms. If it's the case that he would still have to apply formally, I'm not sure he'd want the hassle and expense, as it's over £200.
A mother with sole parental responsibility may, under her Will, appoint the father as the guardian of her child. On her death, the father would acquire parental responsibility because he has acquired guardianship of the child.
As mentioned above, if the child's parents marry, the father will automatically acquire joint parental responsibility with the mother for any of their children. The step father does not acquire parental responsibility over his step children by marrying the mother."
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Topic: Parental Responsibility.
