iological fathers of children born after 1st December 2003 in England and Wales who are named on the birth certificate have parental responsibility.

An unmarried father may acquire parental responsibility without court proceedings by:

• subsequently marrying the mother
• becoming registered as the child’s father
• entering into a parental responsibility agreement with the mother
• becoming a formally appointed guardian

Parental responsibility may also be acquired by an unmarried father on the making of:

• a parental responsibility order
• a child arrangements order (CAO) in which the father is named as the person with whom the child is to live (formerly a residence order) in which case a separate parental responsibility order must be made
• a CAO in which the father is named as a person with whom the child is to spend time or otherwise have contact with but is not named as the person with whom the child is to live (formerly a contact order), in which case the court must decide whether it would be appropriate, in view of the provision made in the order, for him to have parental responsibility and, if so, a separate parental responsibility order must be made

A father may acquire parental responsibility if he is formally appointed as a child’s guardian, the appointment being made by the mother or the court. The appointment can only take effect after the mother’s death.

A mother and an unmarried father may enter into a parental responsibility agreement, as a consequence of which the father will acquire parental responsibility. To be effective, the agreement must be in the prescribed form and be recorded in the prescribed manner. Your Solicitor will be able to assist you with this.