Residence and Contact

Residence and Contact (cont...)

A Parental Responsibility Agreement is an agreement which is entered into by both the mother and father i.e. shared parental responsibility. The agreement must be in the prescribed form and must be signed by the parents and witnessed by a JP, a justices' clerk or a county court officer (not by a solicitor). The Agreement must then be recorded by sending it to the Principal Registry of the Family Division of the Court. No fee is payable. The Registry will then seal the copies and send one to the mother and the other to the father. Once the Agreement is entered into, it cannot be ended by agreement. It can only end when the child reaches 18 years of age unless a court order has been obtained terminating the Agreement.

If the father obtains parental responsibility, neither the mother or father could change the child's surname without the consent of the other parent if there was a Residence or Care Order in force. If there was no Residence or Care Order in force, the mother could change the child's surname without the consent of the father or any reference to him. However, if the father became aware of the change of surname, he could challenge it by way of an application through the courts.

With regard to removal of the child out of the UK, if there was no Residence Order in force, either parent could (in theory) take their child abroad without any restriction. This would be so even if there was a Parental Responsibility Agreement or Order in force. If there was a Residence Order in force, the consent of all persons with parental responsibility would need to be obtained before the child could be removed from the UK.

In relation to adoption, the father of the child who was not married to the mother at the birth of the child continues to occupy a peculiar position in adoption law. If there was a Parental Responsibility Agreement between the father and mother or even a Parental Responsibility Order, the father is a parent having parental responsibility and, therefore, his agreement to the making of an adoption order would be required. If there was no such agreement or order in force, the father would not be a parent under adoption law and his consent would not be required.

If the father does not acquire parental responsibility either by way of an agreement or order from the court, the mother could appoint him as a guardian in her Will. On the mother's death, the father would then acquire parental responsibility because he was a guardian even if he had never obtained it during the mother's lifetime. Even if the mother had not appointed the father as guardian on her death, the court has the power to appoint a guardian which could be the father.

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