What rights does a father have?

If you have separated from your ex-partner, you may be worried about having contact with your child or children, even if things are amicable. Even if you and the child’s mother or other parent were never romantically involved, many fathers feel nervous about what their rights are.

What rights does a father have to see his child?

In the UK, fathers have the same rights to see their children as mothers, but it isn’t quite as straightforward as it depends on whether you have parental responsibility.

Mothers (or birthing parents) automatically have parental responsibility as they are the legal ‘mother’, however, fathers do not automatically have parental responsibility when a child is born.

A father can obtain parental responsibility by:

• Being married to or in a civil partnership with the mother at the time of the child’s birth
• Being named on the child’s birth certificate
• Obtaining a Parental Responsibility Agreement (either with the mother or through the court)
• Being a named resident parent in a Child Arrangements Order

What is parental responsibility?

Parental responsibility relates to the legal rights, duties and powers a parent has for a child. Having parental responsibility entitles you to be consulted, informed, and involved in the important decisions relating to your child.

These decisions can include matters such as what school they go to, what religion they follow, consenting to children being taken abroad and medical issues.

Anyone with parental responsibility has the power to make these decisions until the child reaches 18 years old.

Blog | A guide to parental responsibility

A father’s rights to child contact

The law supports children having a relationship with both parents, whether they are the mother or father, provided it is safe and in their best interests.

When parents separate, even if there is conflict, a father does not automatically lose their right to see their child.

Many people presume that mothers have ‘more’ rights after separation, but this is not the case. Sometimes, child contact is withdrawn or limited by one parent following separation.

Can a parent’s child contact be limited?

When couples separate, they can lose sight of what is important (i.e. the children) in the conflict and financial arrangements. The priority when going through separation or divorce should be the children and what is in their best interests. If the Family Court thinks that it is in a child’s best interests for a parent to have limited, supervised or indirect contact, they can order this, although it is rare.

Reasons for limited contact with children include:

• Domestic abuse against the other parent (and therefore child safety concerns)
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Neglect
• Mental health issues that pose a risk to the child
• Risk of abduction

Parents do not have the right to stop child contact without a court order. Sometimes, parents come to a mutual agreement regarding child contact, either informally in a Parenting Plan or after having mediation and/or seeking legal advice.

When deciding on child contact arrangements, the court will also look at the parent’s ability to co-parent and whether there are other siblings (and therefore if it is better to keep them together).

Types of child contact

Child contact isn’t limited to physical contact; it includes direct and indirect contact.

• Direct contact can be seeing your children on certain days of the week, having them stay with you or visiting them at another family member’s house
• Indirect contact includes telephone /video calls, emails or messages. Sometimes, the court can decide that a parent is limited to indirect contact

What rights does a stepdad have?

Unfortunately, no matter how long a step-parent has been in a child’s life, they do not automatically have or gain parental responsibility when they separate from the child’s mother (or the child’s mother passes away).

Step-parents can gain responsibility for a child by:

• Having a Parental Responsibility Agreement
• Having a Court Order
• Going through the adoption process and gaining parental rights

Do fathers have to pay child maintenance?

It is a common myth that a father must pay child maintenance. Actually, it is both parents’ responsibility to pay child maintenance and/or contribute towards a child’s upbringing.

Child maintenance is normally agreed upon between parents (although it sometimes forms part of divorce finance arrangements) and can be calculated on the GOV.UK website. The most common arrangement is that the non-resident parent pays child maintenance, but this depends on each parent’s income.

Child maintenance is not linked to child contact. Even if your contact is limited, you still have a parental obligation to support your child and contribute towards their upbringing.

My ex-partner is denying me access to my child. What can I do?

If your ex-partner (or your child’s mother or birthing parent) is denying you child contact, you should seek advice from a specialist child law solicitor as soon as possible. It may be that matters can be resolved through mediation but if this is not possible, an experienced lawyer will be able to advise you on your next steps and help keep things as stress-free as possible.

If it is not possible to come to an agreement with your ex-partner, the court will decide based on the child’s best interests.

If the child’s mother is refusing you contact, it may be that you can take out a Prohibited Steps Order to prevent her from doing so, however, it is important to try mediation and a conflict-free approach first.

How we can help

If you are worried about child contact or you are separating from your child’s parent and you want to formalise child arrangements, we can help.

To book an appointment with our specialist child law solicitors in Bristol, call 0117 325 2929 or fill out our online enquiry form.