{"id":2428,"date":"2016-09-02T16:20:12","date_gmt":"2016-09-02T15:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rrpassociates.co.uk\/?p=2428"},"modified":"2016-09-02T17:03:58","modified_gmt":"2016-09-02T16:03:58","slug":"your-children-do-you-have-rights-or-responsibilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rrpassociates.co.uk\/general-news\/your-children-do-you-have-rights-or-responsibilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Children \u2013 Do You Have Rights or Responsibilities?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With divorce rates in the UK remaining high and many parents choosing to co habit rather than get married, a relationship break down<\/a> can often result in complicated situations in relation to a couples\u2019 children<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a commonly held misconception that parents have \u2018rights\u2019 over their children. Martin Boniface, a Family Law<\/a> solicitor at leading and award winning regional law firm RRP Associates says \u201cI am told almost on a daily basis by one of my clients that as the child\u2019s mother or father they have \u2018rights\u2019 in relation to their children when their partnership breaks down. While the idea of equal rights for parents should be lauded, and campaigners such as Fathers 4 Justice have succeeded in raising the bar with their high profile activities, culminating in \u2018Batman\u2019 and the banner on the iconic Buckingham Palace balcony, they still haven\u2019t been able to change the law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 1989 Children Act states that parents have a responsibility to ensure that a child is housed, kept safe and cared for in a proper manner. This is known as \u2018Parental Responsibility\u2019 or \u2018PR\u2019 for short. Should a parent feel that the child\u2019s best interests are not being looked after, they can make an application to court. \u00a0The subtle differences between rights and responsibilities play a big part in Children Act proceedings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mothers gain automatic Parental Responsibility<\/a> when their child is born. The Children Act 1989 sets out that, should the child\u2019s father be married to the child\u2019s mother (at the time the child was born), then he will gain parental responsibility as an automatic right. However, if the parents are unmarried, then the father can only obtain Parental Responsibility in certain circumstances, either through marriage to the mother, being present at the time of signing of the birth certificate, through consent or through a court order.<\/p>\n

On a daily basis TV presenter Jeremy Kyle shows how complicated and emotional it can be to find out who is the natural father of a child. This can, at times, cause issues over who is can or can\u2019t make an application to court in relation to the child. While not impossible, having to prove PR can be a significant stumbling block to an application being allowed by a court and often delays the proceedings.<\/p>\n

It can also become an issue when dealing with incidents involving the child such as taking the child to hospital, discussing the child\u2019s progression with their teacher, making a decision on which faith the child is brought up following or taking the child abroad on holiday. Only someone with Parental Responsibility will be allowed to voice an opinion or challenge a decision, without seeking permission from the court first.<\/p>\n

Martin concludes \u201cParental Responsibility is the answer to Batman\u2019s banner. It conveys the Responsibility upon each parent to set out what is in the child\u2019s best interest, which should always be the court\u2019s paramount concern in dealing with all matters involving children. While it\u2019s usually clear when a father has, or hasn\u2019t got Parental Responsibility, it is one of the most important factors to decide before an application can commence.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn unmarried father will not be barred from making an application to court to obtain Parental Responsibility, but this can be a long and arduous process and the first step should always be to discuss this with the child\u2019s mother and come to an agreement between yourselves. However, as Fathers 4 Justice would say, this often is impossible and the only option is to take legal action to get fair access to their children.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you find yourself in a situation which seems to be spiralling out of control or you need the help of a Solicitor regarding children issues then please contact Martin or one of his team on\u00a00745 127 0008<\/a> or email martin.boniface@rrpassociates.co.uk<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With divorce rates in the UK remaining high and many parents choosing to co habit rather than get married, a relationship break down can often result in complicated situations in relation to a couples\u2019 children It\u2019s a commonly held misconception that parents have \u2018rights\u2019 over their children. Martin Boniface, a Family Law solicitor at leading…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2429,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,39],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n