Parental Responsibility Order.

If you are a father, but you are not married to your partner and the children are not living with you then you may not have the right to make important decisions concerning the children. If you want this right then you can apply to the court for an order. This is called a "Parental Responsibility Order".

If you are or were married to your partner then you will already have Parental Responsibility. This means you have a right to be kept informed about your children’s education, health, welfare and you can make decisions about their education, health and welfare.

However, stepfathers cannot apply for Parental Responsibility, only the child's natural father can apply.

More than one person can have Parental Responsibility for a child. If you get a Residence Order then you will automatically have Parental Responsibility for a child. Therefore a stepfather or other family relative who gets a residence order will also have Parental Responsibility.

You may not need to go to court in order to get Parental Responsibility. If you and your partner agree then you can enter into a Parental Responsibility Agreement, this is a type of contract. Your solicitor should be able to give you the Form you will need and help you to complete it.

The Form must be signed by both parents and the parent’s signatures will need to be witnessed by an Officer of the Court or a Magistrate. The Form then has to be sent to the Principal Registry of the High Court.

It will not be an effective agreement until it has been sent to the court and registered there.

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