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You can get Parental Responsibility as a step-parent in a number of ways including legal adoption, a Parental Responsibility Agreement and a Court Order. This information applies in England and Wales.
Parental Responsibility covers all of the duties and obligations you have towards a child as their parent.
For example, as a parent you have a duty to provide your child with food, shelter, safety and financial maintenance. But Parental Responsibility goes further than this, also covering education, religion, discipline, medical treatment, the name by which the child is known and even where the child should live.
The Children Act 1989 sets out a legal definition of Parental Responsibility.
A mother automatically has Parental Responsibility. A biological father will have Parental Responsibility if he meets any of the following criteria:
Same-sex partners who were civil partners at the time of the birth will both have Parental Responsibility.
A child’s Legal Guardian will have Parental Responsibility if he/she was appointed in the Will of a parent with Parental Responsibility, and that parent is deceased.
In certain circumstances, Parental Responsibility may be shared between a parent and a Local Authority (usually when the child has been the subject of Care Proceedings).
While many step-parents will naturally develop a deep bond with their step-child and play a significant role in their upbringing, they will not automatically have parental responsibility for them. This means that legally they have no say in day-to-day decisions and may not even have authority to sign consent forms for school.
Whether the other (non-resident) biological parent plays an ongoing active role in the child's life or not, step-parents can feel side-lined or that their relationship with the child is unacknowledged. This can also be an issue for the child if the step-parent is a significant parental figure in their life.
Step-parents cannot acquire Parental Responsibility for a child simply by marrying the child's biological parent.
Currently a step-parent living in England or Wales can acquire Parental Responsibility for a child under the following circumstances:
Same sex partners in a registered civil partnership or marriage can also acquire Parental Responsibility by agreement or a Court Order.
There are two criteria to obtaining Parental Responsibility by agreement. Firstly, you must be married to the biological parent with whom the child lives.
Secondly you must have the signed consent of every other person with Parental Responsibility for the child. This means that if the other parent of the child is living and has Parental Responsibility, he/she must agree to you acquiring Parental Responsibility and must co-operate in the agreement being approved by the Court.
A number of supporting documents will need to be provided:
It can be a contentious issue when other people are involved in the upbringing of your children. For some, the idea of sharing Parental Responsibility with a former spouse's new spouse may not sit comfortably. A non-resident parent could view this as an attempt to marginalise them in their own child's life.
If the other parent doesn't consent but you and your spouse believe that it's in the child's best interests for you to have Parental Responsibility, you can apply for a Court Order giving you Parental Responsibility.
What a step-parent Parental Responsibility Agreement does is give you the same legal rights and obligations in relation to raising the child as the biological parent or parents.
Here’s what a step-parent Parental Responsibility Agreement doesn’t do:
What a step-parent Parental Responsibility Agreement does do is give you the same legal rights and obligations in relation to raising the child as the biological parent or parents.
Once you have Parental Responsibility, whether by agreement or Court Order, it can only end in the following ways:
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