LEGAL EAGLE: I want to be involved in any decisions about his care but I'm not on the birth certificate

If a Parental Responsibility Agreement is signed by the mother, then this would be presented to the Family Court.

I separated from my child’s mother before he was born in April 2020 and she did not include me on his birth certificate. I want to be involved in any decisions about his care. Is there anything I can do?

If you had been named on your child’s birth certificate, or indeed had you been married to his mother at the time he was born, you would have automatically had ‘parental responsibility’ for your son.

These are the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which a parent has in respect of their child – in practical terms, parental responsibility gives you a right to be involved in any decisions taken in respect of the child.

This might be consenting to medical treatment or choosing where he goes to school.

You have indicated that you are not named on your son’s birth certificate but would like to be involved in making decisions about his care.

While of course your son’s mother may be agreeable to involving you in those decisions, ultimately without parental responsibility she would have the final say.

I would advise you to consider the following option:

First, ask the mother whether she would sign a Parental Responsibility Agreement.

This is a simple document which would be signed by both yourself and the mother, indicating that you are in agreement that you should be granted parental responsibility.

You would then file this with the Family Court and upon receipt of the final stamped agreement, you would officially have parental responsibility for your son.

Your application would need to be made on ‘Form C1’ (which can be downloaded online) and pay the court fee.

When the Judge considers your application and decides whether to grant you parental responsibility, they will look at factors like your current relationship with your son, how committed you are to him, and why you have made your application.

If therefore you are regularly spending time with your son, you are genuinely interested in securing his welfare and want to be an active participant in his life, it is likely the Order would be granted.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Ben Hoare Bell LLP Solicitors on 0191 565 3112 or email [email protected]. Visit www.benhoarebell.co.uk for further information.