If you’re married parents or the unmarried mother of a child, you will have parental responsibility for your child. You will also have parental responsibility if you’re the father of a child born after 1 December 2003 and your name is on the birth certificate, or if you’ve signed a parental responsibility agreement.
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What is parental responsibility?
If you have parental responsibility, you have the rights and responsibilities for making the important decisions in a child’s life, be it in relation to their education, religious upbringing, medical treatment or place of residence.
You don’t give up parental responsibility if you separate, divorce or dissolve a civil partnership.
If you don’t have parental responsibility we would help you to try and reach an agreement with the other parent. If an agreement for you to have parental responsibility is reached, we will draft the necessary agreement. If you can’t reach an agreement, our family lawyers can make an application to court on your behalf.
Get in touch with our family law solicitors
Our family law team provide support and proactive advice that can assist you with your case. To contact our solicitors please complete the form below and a member of our team will be in touch to discuss your case.
The whole team are excellent. They're easy to work with yet always professional and friendly.Client Feedback via Chambers and Partners
Key Contacts
Simon Magner Mawdsley
Partner | Head of Family Law
Described by clients as "an excellent listener, open and engaging", "exceptional", "reassuring" and "insightful", Simon acts for a range of clients in all aspects of relationship breakdowns including divorce, resolution of financial matters, civil partnerships, cohabitation disputes, pre- and post-marital agreements, injunctions, and children matters.
Lorraine Saunders
Family Law Partner
With 25 years experience as a family law solicitor, clients describe Lorraine as, “first class”, “approachable and knowledgeable”, “very professional” and “a tenacious but empathetic lawyer who obtains outstanding results.” She is one of the go-to lawyers in the region for matrimonial, cohabitation and children cases.
