Parental responsibility

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Notice of acting

Case number [insert number][In the principal registryORIn the [insert court location] FAMILY court]Sitting at [insert place]Notice of...

Private children—paramountcy of the child's welfare

The paramountcy principleWhen any court determines any question with respect to:•the upbringing of the child, or•the administration of the child's...

Pension attachment orders

The power to make pension attachment orders (previously referred to as earmarking orders) arises from the insertion of sections 25B–25D of the...

The no order principle

This Practice Note explains the no order principle contained in section 1(5) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). It explains when the principle...

Practice notes

Sequestration (confiscation of assets) within contempt proceedings

Sequestration is a process for dealing with a contempt of court that would be otherwise punishable by a committal under which the assets of the...

Produced in partnership with David Salter, deputy High Court judge and Recorder 9th Nov

Practice notes

Decree absolute—divorce

Online divorceWhere a divorce is proceeding via the online service note that while rules relating to divorce proceedings are generally to be found in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Grounds for judicial separation

Applications for judicial separation are relatively rare in practice. It may arise where the client has strong religious and or cultural reasons for...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Drafting the terms of a financial consent order

This Practice Note sets out the basic principles to be applied when drafting a financial consent order including the preparation and structure of the...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Capitalised maintenance—Duxbury calculations

The basis of Duxbury calculationsA Duxbury calculation is an actuarial calculation designed to identify the capital sum required to meet a periodical...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Emergency prohibited steps and child arrangements orders

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

The grounds on which a marriage is void

A void marriage is one that will be treated by the court as never having taken place. The grounds on which a marriage will be void are set out in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Undefended divorce proceedings

Online divorceOn 6 May 2018 the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) launched its online divorce service nationwide for the public acting as litigants in person....

9th Nov

Practice notes

Void and voidable marriages

The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) sets out the grounds on which a marriage is void or voidable and the bars preventing the grant of a decree...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Working with counsel

Instructing counsel to advocate on a client’s behalf should be a matter of careful thought and preparation. The role of counsel is to provide...

Produced in partnership with Ursula Rice of Family First Solicitors Ltd 9th Nov

Practice notes

Child Arrangements Programme—the procedure for section 8 applications

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

COVID-19

In-house

Practice notes

Statements of truth in family proceedings

This Practice Note is impacted by the exit of the UK from the EU on 31 January 2020. This has implications for practitioners when considering an...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Amended, supplemental and further petitions

The distinction between an amended petition, a supplemental petition and a further petitionWhere it is necessary in some way to amend a petition...

9th Nov

Precedents

Specimen statement of issues for a first appointment—financial remedy application

In the Family Court sitting at [location][Case No]Between1[insert name] ApplicantAnd2[ insert name] RespondentStatement of issues for the First...

9th Nov

Practice notes

The grounds on which a marriage is voidable

A decree of nullity granted after 31 July 1971 in respect of a voidable marriage operates to annul the marriage with effect from decree absolute and...

9th Nov

Practice notes

General principles—lump sum orders

This Practice Note sets out the general principles to be applied by the court when considering whether to make a lump sum order within financial...

9th Nov

Most recent Parental responsibility content

Q&As

Where a father has been registered as the father of a child in a foreign jurisdiction, will he acquire parental responsibility in England and Wales under section 4(1)(a) of the Children Act 1989?

Under section 3 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989), 'parental responsibility' is defined as being all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities...

Produced in partnership with 24th Nov

Practice notes

Procedure—parental responsibility applications

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

24th Nov

Precedents

Parental responsibility—client guide

This document provides general guidance regarding parental responsibility for a child. Your family lawyer will be able to provide specific advice...

23rd Nov

Practice notes

Change of name of a child

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

19th Nov

Practice notes

Acquisition of parental responsibility by unmarried fathers

Who has parental responsibility?At birth•where the parents were married to each other, or from 2 December 2019 civil partners of each other at the...

17th Nov

Q&As

Following a divorce, do both parents (both holding parental responsibility) have a right to information regarding a trust of which their child is a minor beneficiary?

By section 3 of the Children Act 1989, 'parental responsibility' means all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 4th Nov

Precedents

Letter to client (applicant) explaining MIAM requirements

Dear [client name]Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM)Court rules require that before making an application to issue certain kinds of...

22nd Oct

Practice notes

Private children proceedings in Scotland

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued regarding all proceedings in Scotland during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and until further...

Produced in partnership with Karen Gibbons of Harper Macleod LLP 20th Oct

Scottish Law

Q&As

Can an unmarried step-parent enter into a parental responsibility agreement or apply for a parental responsibility order in relation to their step-child?

Parental responsibility (PR) is defined in section 3(1) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) as ‘all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and...

15th Oct

Q&As

Can the court change a child's name where the child is subject to a care order?

What are the legislative provisions?Section 33(7) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) provides (inter alia):'While a care order is in force with...

29th Sep

Q&As

Can the same change of name deed be used for an adult if they are known by two different names at present? For example, a client has a given name at birth, but chooses to go by an unofficial alternative name for all purposes, including for official purposes (such as being the name on their passport). They have recently married and would like to change their name to reflect the name they normally goes by as well as their spouse’s surname. Can they renounce both their name at birth and what they are presently known as in the same deed? Or would this require two separate deeds to demonstrate the progression from their given name to their new name?

A deed poll is a legal document that proves a change of name. It enables a person to change any part of their name, add or remove names and hyphens,...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

When applying for a parental responsibility order and child arrangement order, do two court fees have to be paid?

The current court fees in family proceedings were originally set out in the Family Proceedings Fees Order 2008 (FPFO 2008), SI 2008/1054, which came...

28th Sep

Q&As

Is it possible to make an application to remove a person’s parental responsibility?

Parental responsibility that is acquired by an unmarried father by agreement or order may be brought to an end by a court order.In the case of...

28th Sep

Q&As

Are there any cases in which the court has considered the grant of parental responsibility under section 12(2A) of the Children Act 1989?

Section 12(2A) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) was added by paragraph 21(4) of Schedule 2, Part 1 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 2014)...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

Within proceedings under section 8 of the Children Act 1989, an order was made to change a child’s name. As the child is now aged 16, will the order made by the court continue to have effect? If not, can a child over the age of 16 determine their own name contrary to the wishes of either parent and if so by what mechanism?

A child must be registered at birth in accordance with the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, and the first name and surname registered at that...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

Where a parent wants to take their child out of the country for three weeks, but is unable to contact the other parent who has parental responsibility and obtain their consent, is the next step to apply to the court for a specific issue order?

It is an offence to remove a child under the age of 16 from the UK (even where a party has a connection with a child) without the appropriate consent....

28th Sep

Q&As

Where a same-sex male couple are married/civil partners, and one of that couple will be a sperm donor for a woman who is married/a civil partner to another woman, who would have parental responsibility for the child, be the child’s legal parents and be registered on the birth certificate?

We have assumed that you are referring to a non-surrogacy arrangement, ie that the woman who is to carry the child is not doing so under a surrogacy...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

Does a father have parental responsibility where the mother and father married and divorced outside the jurisdiction, the mother has remarried and returned to the UK, and the father has not been involved in the child's life since?

Case studyThe parents of a child married and divorced in Turkey. The mother remarried and returned to the UK with the stepfather and the child. The...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

How may a father’s details be added to a birth certificate, after the initial registration of the child’s birth, by agreement?

The law relating to the registration or re-registration of a birth is outside the scope of Lexis®PSL Family, but the following information may be of...

28th Sep

Q&As

A man believed he was the father of a child, and was included on the child's birth certificate (prior to December 2003). The child is now age 18, and the man has discovered via DNA testing that he is not the child’s biological father. Can he be removed from the child's birth certificate without the child's consent? Does he have parental responsibility for the child, bearing in mind that the child is age 18? Will the child be able to make any claims on the man’s estate?

In this Q&A it has been assumed that the parties were not married and there was no order or agreement as to parental responsibility.The Q&A considers...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep