Jun/090
Dads not Married? No parental rights!
Parental responsibility is the ability to legally be able to make decisions for your child up until the age of 18 when the child is considered a young adult and can legally make the decision for their selves.
Most dads do not know that if they are not married when their child is born, or do not do so after the child is born, they have no or limited parental rights to their child. This responsibility goes to the mother in the event of a split. This means that fathers cannot sign school trip forms or hospital operation consent forms and more importantly, they cannot stop their child being taken out of the country by the mother.
Another fact that some fathers are still unaware of is that by completing a parental responsibility agreement form and returning it to the court, he will then be given parental responsibility. The mother does not need to sign the agreement; however it would be a good idea to get her to sign it if she will.
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