Parental responsibility

Meaning and scope of parental responsibility

Parental responsibility is defined in section 3(1) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) as all the rights, duties, powers and responsibilities and authority that, by law, a parent of a child has in relation to the child and their property.

Parental responsibility is commonly accepted to include, but is not limited to:

  1. the right and duty to care for the child and provide a home

  2. to determine where the child should live

  3. to ensure that if the child is of compulsory school age, they receive appropriate education

  4. to appoint a guardian

  5. to consent to medical treatment or obtain appropriate treatment for the child

  6. to name the child

  7. to remove the child from the jurisdiction

See Practice Note: The meaning and scope of parental responsibility and Precedent: Parental responsibility—client guide.

The position at birth

Parental responsibility will be acquired automatically by:

  1. a child's father and mother who were married to each other, or from 2 December 2019 civil partners of each other at the time of the child’s birth

  2. a

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High Court judgment demonstrates usefulness of section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 in Schedule 1 claims (Re P (A Child) (Financial Provision))

Family analysis: In this Schedule 1 case the mother received, for her son’s benefit: a housing fund of nearly £1m (the property to be held on trust); child maintenance (including ‘HECSA’/carer’s allowance) until completion of his first degree; and lump sums in respect of his capital needs and her own substantial liabilities (chiefly relating to her unpaid legal fees). The father (whose resources could be measured in the ‘tens of millions of pounds’) had sought to prejudice the mother’s claims via transferring his valuable shares to family members, who then transferred the same into a trust structure (settled under Czech law). A further onwards transfer was then made of the trust’s assets into a Liechtenstein foundation. Inferences were drawn by the court in respect of the level of the father’s wealth, and specifically as to the value of the transferred shares. Detailed findings were made against him in respect of the identified transactions, which had been the focus of the mother’s section 423 application. Although a section 423(2) order was not actually made, the application was adjourned pending the father’s compliance with the award, with security in the sum of £600,000 also ordered, alongside a continuation of the freezing orders made earlier in the proceedings. David Wilkinson, solicitor at Slater Heelis, considers the issues.

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