Many fathers followingseparation or divorce often hold the opinion that English Law favoursmothers when matters concerning childcontact and child custody arise. Thisoften leads many fathers to believe that they do not have any rights to seeingtheir children.
A father living in the UK isentitled to have a say in the care of their child. If this cannot be agreedwith the mother, then the father cantake steps to secure their rights to see their children. So exactly what rights does a father have to see hischild?
Fathers rights overchild are as much rights as a mother to see their child
The law holds the view that parents have responsibilities towards their children and that it is the child that has a right to have an ongoing and meaningful relationship with both of the parents. The court will usually take the child’s right to a relationship with both parents seriously as long as this is in the best interests and welfare of the child. A fathers rights over child are therefore just as much as the mother in the eyes of the law.
Many separating parents are often unable to reach an agreement between them on how much contact a father will have with the child due to the tensions and issued following a separation. In such circ*mstances the father may need to make an application to the family court to legally obtain contact with his child.
What rights do fathers have UK?
The general rule in England andWales is that it is the child’s right to have access to both parents. Both themother and the father have a right to care for the welfare of their child aswell being responsible for their upbringing their child by providing them withfood, shelter and clothes. However, a fathers rights over a child can vary.These depend on whether the father is married or unmarried and whether thefather is named on the child’s birth certificate or whether or not the fatherhas parental responsibility. Our family law specialists will consider indetails the rights of father under different circ*mstances.
What rights does afather have to see his child during marriage?
Fathers rights over a childduring the course of the marriage are the same as the mother. When a father ismarried to his child’s mother the English courts presume, he is the biologicalfather. Therefore, both the mother and the father have the right to share legaland physical custody of the child. Many fathers often wonder what rights does afather have to see his child during marriage. A married father shares equalcustody rights with the mother. Until a court order confirms otherwise thefather has a right to equal custody of the child. If the child is born into themarriage then the father has automatic parental responsibility over thechild. Based on this a married fathersrights over a child include the rights to make decisions concerning the legalmatters, as well as educational, health and welfare and religious matters. A father’srights over a child will also require him to provide food, clothes and shelterfor his child.
Courts can often request amarriage certificate or birth certificate with the father’s name listed on itas evidence in a hearing concerning child arrangement. This can act as evidenceto show the father’s involvement in the child’s life since birth and help showthe child’s past and present relationship with the father. This can be verycrucial when determining childarrangement and childcustody given that the courts wantto see the relationship the father has had with their child and how thisimpacts the welfare of the child.
Fathers’ rights overchild are as much rights as a mother to see their child
The law holds the view thatparents have responsibilities towards their children and that it is the childthat has a right to have an ongoing and meaningful relationship with both ofthe parents. The court will usually take the child’s right to a relationshipwith both parents seriously as long as this is in the best interests andwelfare of the child. A fathers rights over child are therefore just as much asthe mother in the eyes of the law.
Many separating parents areoften unable to reach an agreement between them on how much contact a fatherwill have with the child due to the tensions and issued following a separation.In such circ*mstances the father may need to make an application to the familycourt to legally obtain contact with his child.
What rights does a father have to see his child afterseparation?
A child has a right to see theirfather and have an ongoing relationship with the father. The mother shouldencourage the child to see the father and enjoy time with them. A father hasjust as much right to have contact with the child as the mother.
A father who was married to themother or was listed on the birth certificate has parental responsibility overa child. The parental responsibility is not lost by the father when theyseparate or divorce from the mother. When parents separate ideally an agreementshould be reached on co-parenting together, if possible.
If parents are unable to reachan agreement, they should consult mediation or legal advice. Quite oftenassistance from legal advisers could lead to an agreement being made inrelation to a father seeing their child. If an amicable agreement cannot bereached, then a father who was married to the mother or named on the birthcertificate will need to make an application to the court to obtain fathersrights over child.
Can a mother stop a father from seeing his child?
No unless there are specialcirc*mstances. Neither parent has rights to restrict the other parent fromseeing their child. The only exception to this rule is where the welfare of achild may be at risk. If there is a possibility that the child is at risk ofharm the mother can stop a father from seeing his child.
In order to restrict a father’saccess to a child the mother must prove to the court that there is a risk tothe welfare of a child. In such circ*mstances the mother may restrict access ordecide on:
- How long you can see the child
- When you can see the child
- How you see them, i.e. direct contact or supervised contact, and
- Whether you can see the child at all.
A mother may restrict access ifthere is any concerns surrounding the father which relate to drugs, alcohol,criminal behaviour or abuse.
Can a mother remove fathers rights over child?
A mother can remove a fathersrights over the child if the father is not the biological father of her child.In order for the mother to prevent the father from having any rights the fathermust also not be named on the birth certificate of the child or have beenmarried to the mother at the time of the birth of the child.
In contrast if a father hasparental responsibility over a child by virtue of being married to the motherat the time of the birth, is named on the birth certificate or has acquiredparental responsibility through the court the mother cannot remove a father’srights.
A mother may only restrict orremove a father’s rights who has parental responsibility if the child is indanger of physical or psychological danger. In such a situation a mother can dowhat is necessary to protect the child. The mother can also go to court and askfor an order to prevent the father from seeing the child.
The courts will only remove afather’s rights where there is an exceptional situation or a decision is needto protect the child’s interests. In such circ*mstances a court may also removethe fathers parental responsibility which would result in the father losing allhis rights over the child.
Do Unmarried fathers have rights?
Unmarried fathers do notautomatically obtain parental responsibility over a child. They can only obtainparental responsibility if they are named on the birth certificate of thechild. If an unmarried father is named on the birth certificate, then they willhave the same rights over the child as a mother which extend to contact andaccess to the child as well as the ability to be consulted on importantdecisions surrounding the children. Unmarried fathers named on the child’s birthcertificate enjoy equal rights as the mother.
In contrast unmarried fatherswho are not named on the birth certificate of a child do not acquire parentalresponsibility. As a result, they do not need to be consulted when makingdecisions about the child. In such situation the father will not have any legalrights in child custody or child arrangement disputes. In order to see hischild in these circ*mstances a father will first need to establish paternitywith the courts and obtain parental responsibility before looking to see theirchild.
What does the court consider when assessing what rights does a father have over child contact?
When assessing what rights does a father have over child contact, the courts will consider the welfare of the child and the child’s best interests under the Children Act 1989. The court’s will consider what is in your child’s best interests and not necessarily what either of the parents want. Therefore, if the mother will not allow contact the courts will disregard the mother’s wishes and focus on the child. Ultimately for a child to maintain a good, close and loving relationship with both of parents is in the child’s best interests and a court will make orders to ensure that happens.
The only time when a courtwill not be inclined to assist the fathers contact with the child is wherethere is a concern surrounding the welfare and safety of the child. Thisusually applies where there the father is abusive, or there are issuessurrounding drug and alcohol abuse. In such instances the court will usuallyinstruct for Cafcass to carry out safeguarding checks and gather evidence.
The courts will then look at all the evidence as well as listening to the father before reaching its decision on awarding child contact to the father. It is therefore clear that the courts seek to promote an active relationship of the child with both parents. This right is only taken away from the child where there are concerns regarding the welfare of the child.
What rights does a father have to see his child as a stepparent?
Step families are quite commonin the UK. It is common for parents to marry begin relationship with someonewho is not the biological father. Step parents can provide a strong bond withthe child and play a pivotal role in the life of the child. Legally a stepparent has no rights over a step child. Step father cannot even sign schoolconsent forms.
Step fathers can only acquirerights over a step child by acquiring step parent parental responsibility.Previously this could only be obtained by adopting the child or obtaining a residence order. Step parentparental responsibility can now be obtained in the following situations:
- When the court makesa child arrangement order specifying the child lives with the step parent
- When the step parentadopts the child
- When the court hasmade a parental responsibility order
- When a parentalresponsibility agreement is signed to which all parental responsibility holdersconsent.
Once a step father acquires stepparent parental responsibility he will enjoy the same duties, responsibilitiesand rights as a natural parent.
Arrange a FREEconsultation to better understand what rights does a father have to see hischild
If you are concerned father orwanting to better understand what rights does a father have to see his child contactus today on 0330 094 5880 or let us call you back to arrange an initial consultation with one of our familylawyers in York or Newcastle, Londonor across the country will be able to assist in dealing with your enquiry.
