- The legal concept of "parental responsibility" is defined in the Children Act (1989) as being: "All the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent has in relation to a child and his property."
- A person with parental responsibility has the right to make decisions about a child's:
- education.
- place of residence.
- name.
- medical treatment.
- religious upbringing.
- Not all parents automatically have parental responsibility. Those who do have parental responsibility are as follows.
- Parents who are married when their child is born.
- Unmarried mothers.
- Unmarried fathers who are named on the birth certificate where the birth was registered on or after 1st December, 2003.
- Although unmarried fathers do not necessarily have parental responsibility in law for their children, a father can acquire parental responsibility by:
- a written agreement from the child's mother. (Forms for this purpose are available from the local Court.)
- Court order (if agreement cannot be reached).
- marrying the mother.
- re-registering the birth.
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