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GLOSSARY

Parental responsibility definition

/pəˈrɛnt(ə)l/ /rɪˌspɒnsɪˈbɪlɪti/

Published by a LexisNexis Family expert

What does Parental responsibility mean?

All the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property.

The birth mother of a child will always have parental responsibility unless it is extinguished by the making of an adoption order in favour of another person. The child's father will acquire parental responsibility if married to the mother, recorded on the register of the child's birth as the father, by court order or the drawing up of an agreement with the mother (a parental responsibility agreement) which must be in a specified form and must be signed by both parents and lodged with the court. Parental responsibility can be acquired by a step parent or civil partner.

Family

All the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property.

The birth mother of a child will always have parental responsibility unless it is extinguished by the making of an adoption order in favour of another person.

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Procedural guide—leave to remove a child permanently from the jurisdiction

Procedural guide—leave to remove a child permanently from the jurisdiction Removing a child from the jurisdiction without the required consent(s) may result in an offence being committed under the Child Abduction Act 1984 (CAA 1984). See Practice Note: Child abduction—criminal action and electronic tagging. Where there is no pre-existing child arrangements order (CAO) in force that regulates living arrangements for the child, before removing the child from the jurisdiction the consent should be sought of the following: • each person with parental responsibility, and • the father (whether or not he has parental responsibility for the child) Failure to do so will run the risk of falling foul of CAA 1984 and/or the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Where there is a CAO in force that regulates the child's living arrangements, section 13 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) provides that no person may remove the child from the UK without either the written consent of every person who has parental responsibility for them or...

Checklist—matters to consider on application for grant of letters of administration with Will annexed

Checklist—matters to consider on application for grant of letters of administration with Will annexed This Checklist will apply to all applications to prove a Will other than by an executor. For the circumstances where this may apply, see Practice Notes: • Letters of Administration with Will annexed • Administration with Will annexed—priority to apply for grant—Q&As It is necessary to inspect the Will and then ensure that the application statement of truth within the application form PA1P or online application is completed correctly. The Will • check that the original Will is to hand and that it was made in the full name of the testator. Where the name used in the Will does not match the testator’s official name, the reason for this must be stated in the application statement of truth (which will follow from the application form PA1P or the online application). See Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 (NCPR 1987), SI 1987/2024, r 9. • confirm that the names of the executors included in the Will are correct...

Discover our 3 Checklists on Parental responsibility

Exercise of parental responsibility

Sharing parental responsibilityMore than one person may have parental responsibility for the same child at the same time.A parent does not cease to have parental responsibility solely because another person acquires it.Where those sharing parental responsibility do not agree as to its exercise, any issue may have to be resolved by the court by the making of an application for a specific issue order or a prohibited steps order.See Practice Notes: Specific issue orders and Prohibited steps orders.The right of independent actionWhere more than one person has parental responsibility for the same child, each of them may act alone and without the other in meeting that responsibility subject to any enactment that requires the consent in a matter affecting the child.The ability to act alone is subject to the limitation that a person with parental responsibility may not act in any way that would be incompatible with any order made in respect to the child under the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). Wardship also limits the freedom to exercise parental...

Acquisition of parental responsibility by step-parents and others

Step-parentsA step-parent who is married to or the civil partner of a parent of a child who has parental responsibility may apply for an order for parental responsibility or may enter into a parental responsibility agreement. The explanatory notes to the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (ACA 2002), (which inserted section 4A(1) to the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989)) state that the intention is to provide an alternative to adoption where a step-parent wishes to acquire parental responsibility for their step-child. It has the advantage of not removing parental responsibility from the other birth-parent and does not legally separate the child from membership of the family of the other birth-parent. Parental responsibility agreementStep-parents may acquire parental responsibility for their step-child by entering into a parental responsibility agreement.In relation to a parental responsibility agreement:•where both of the child's parents have parental responsibility, the agreement must be between the step-parent and the child's mother and father•where only the mother has parental responsibility, the agreement must be with her•the parties must complete a...

Discover our 164 Practice Notes on Parental responsibility

Explanatory note for a client's Will—fully discretionary

Explanatory note for a client's Will—fully discretionary STOP PRESS: Abolition of non-dom regime and introduction of residence-based IHT regime. Finance Act 2025 (FA 2025) which received Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, implements legislation to abolish the remittance basis of taxation and replace it with a residence-based regime, commencing on 6 April 2025. FA 2025 also replaces domicile as the key factor in establishing liability to inheritance tax. Other changes include amendment of the rules determining excluded property status, the abolition of protected settlements status of offshore trusts, and changes to overseas workday relief. For information on these changes, see Practice Notes: The abolition of the remittance basis of taxation from 2025–26 and A new residence-based regime for IHT from 2025–26. See also: Finance Bill Tracking Service: Key dates (Finance Bill 2025) and Finance Act 2025. [Your ]Will—[explanatory note] This [explanatory note] explains the main provisions of your Will. Please read this [explanatory note] and your Will carefully. If, after reading this [explanatory note] and your Will, you conclude that...

Explanatory note for a client's Will—to spouse on flexible life interest trust with remainder on discretionary trust

Explanatory note for a client's Will—to spouse on flexible life interest trust with remainder on discretionary trust STOP PRESS: Abolition of non-dom regime and introduction of residence-based IHT regime. Finance Act 2025 (FA 2025) which received Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, implements legislation to abolish the remittance basis of taxation and replace it with a residence-based regime, commencing on 6 April 2025. FA 2025 also replaces domicile as the key factor in establishing liability to inheritance tax. Other changes include amendment of the rules determining excluded property status, the abolition of protected settlements status of offshore trusts, and changes to overseas workday relief. For information on these changes, see Practice Notes: The abolition of the remittance basis of taxation from 2025–26 and A new residence-based regime for IHT from 2025–26. See also: Finance Bill Tracking Service: Key dates (Finance Bill 2025) and Finance Act 2025. [Your] Will—[name of testator]—explanatory note This explanatory note explains the main provisions of your Will. Please read this explanatory note and your Will carefully....

Dive into our 31 Precedents related to Parental responsibility

If the whereabouts of the respondent to an application under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 are unknown what steps should the applicant take regarding service?

If the whereabouts of the respondent to an application under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 are unknown what steps should the applicant take regarding service? The rules in respect of private law proceedings relating to children are largely contained in Part 12 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955 (FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, Pt 12) and the accompanying FPR 2010, PD 12B—the Child Arrangements Programme (CAP). In relation to an application under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) the following must be made respondents to the proceedings: • every person whom the applicant believes to have parental responsibility for the child • where the child is the subject of a care order, every person whom the applicant believes to have had parental responsibility immediately prior to the making of the care order, and • in the case of an application to extend, vary or discharge an order, the parties to the proceedings leading to the order that it...

What practicalities can be put in place to make travel abroad easier where a mother has a different surname from her child?

What practicalities can be put in place to make travel abroad easier where a mother has a different surname from her child? Difficulties can sometimes arise when a parent tries to travel abroad with a child who has a different surname to their own. Understandably, border control forces are cautious about child abduction and trafficking and may want to ask some questions to ensure that the child is safe. Practical steps that can be taken to try to minimise difficulties include travelling with the child’s birth certificate, which will include details of the child’s parents and therefore set out the name of the travelling parent. If the parent travelling with the child has changed their name since the birth, it would be helpful to travel with the change of name deed or deed poll by which they changed their name, or their marriage certificate if the change was effected in that way. Further to the documents mentioned above, it may also be helpful to obtain a signed letter of authority...

See the 186 Q&As about Parental responsibility

Additional considerations for older intended parents considering international surrogacy (Mr and Mrs K v Mr and Mrs Z)

Family analysis: In Mr and Mrs K v Mr and Mrs Z the court considered an application for a parental order by the intended parents, (the applicants), who were both aged 72 at the time of their application. The child had been born via a surrogacy arrangement in California. While all elements of section 54 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (HFEA 2008) criteria had been met, Mrs Justice Knowles expressed her concern, at the first hearing, that the applicant’s statements did not sufficiently detail the arrangements for the child’s care should they die or lose capacity during the child’s minority. The court was required to consider the child’s lifelong welfare interests when deciding whether to make a parental order and was obliged to examine carefully what arrangements had been made to secure the child’s welfare should incapacity or death befall either of the applicants. Natalie Sutherland, partner and head of Modern Families at Burgess Mee Family Law considers the decision.

Family weekly highlights—29 May 2025

This week's edition of the Family weekly highlights includes analysis of the implications of the Family Justice Council guidance on covert recordings in children proceedings. Recent judgments on adoption, anonymisation and an application to vary a transparency order and the Court of Appeal’s consideration of an appeal against a summary return order are also included.

Read the latest 37 News articles on Parental responsibility