While it is not uncommon for the father to gain custody of the child or children after divorce, the family court judges typically award this right to the mother. Our father’s rights lawyer can help men who need support and advice on their parental rights, how they are required to pay maintenance after divorce and the arrangements they can make with the former spouse so that they may retain and increase visiting rights when child custody is shared.
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Default parental responsibility in the UK | Yes |
|
Main parental roles in the UK |
– provide a home for and protect the child; – provide education and disciplining the child; – agreeing to medical treatment, looking after the child’s property, etc. |
|
Additional father’s responsibilities |
Financial support, irrespective of having parental responsibility or not |
| Main parental rights |
– see the child; – be involved in the wellfare and wellbeing of the child; – provide for the child and make important decisions about the child’s upbringing |
| Unmarried father’s rights |
No automatic rights for unmarried fathers (see below on how to acquire these) |
| Parental responsibility by registration |
Yes, when this is done jointly with the mother |
| Parental responsibility by agreement |
Yes, by signing an agreement with the mother |
| Parental responsibility by court order |
Yes, when this right is offered by court |
| Parental responsibility for a child born in Scotland |
– if married to the mother or married the mother after the birth of the child; – if, unmarried, he is named on the birth certificate |
| Parental responsibility for a child born in Northern Ireland |
– if married to the mother at the time of the birth; – if married the mother after the birth and continues to live in Northern Ireland; – if unmarried to the mother, when he is named on the birth certificate |
| Parental responsibility for a child born outside the UK |
Depending on the foreign country where the birth was registered |
| Parental responsibility for same-sex civil partners |
Shared parental responsibility if the partnership was in place at the time of the assisted reproductive procedure to have the child |
| Parental responsibility for non-civil partners |
The second parent can obtain responsibility by application or by becoming a civil partner (and making an agreement or registering at birth) |
| End of parental responsibility |
When the child reaches the age of 18 |
| Help for child arrangements |
Personalised legal assistance for drawing up child arrangements for fathers |
| Do the mother and the father have equal rights to see the child? |
Yes |
|
Does the father still need to pay child support if he has parental rights? |
Yes. Parental rights are separate from the duty to pay child support. |
|
Can an absent father lose his parental rights? |
No |
| Can the father be restricted from seeing his child? | No, unless there are valid reasons to restrict the father from seeing his child or children. |
| How is access to the child restricted for the father? |
Via a court order |
| What father’s rights can be restricted by court? |
When, how, and for how long the father can see the child. |
| What are the father’s rights under a shared custody order? |
The child can also live with the father for a defined period of time. |
| What are the father’s limitations under a no contact order? |
This type of order usually prohibits any and all in-person contact. |
| Conditions to issue a no-contact order | Proven abuse and/or domestic violence, as judged by the court |
| Can a father see his child if a non-molestation order applies? | Only if he is able to make viable arrangements within the limitations imposed via this court order. |
| Is full custody possible for the father? |
Yes |
| What is needed for the father to obtain full custody? |
Proof that it is in the child’s best interests for the father to have full custody. |
| How can the father apply for full custody? |
Through a Child Arrangement Order |
| How our team can assist you | We can help you know more about your rights as a father as well as determine if you meet the requirements to obtain full custody. |
| When to contact us | You can reach out to our team as soon as you decide to separate from the mother of your child and want to find out more about your custody rights. |
In those cases where the father has a genuine concern about the welfare of the child, were him/her to remain with the mother, working with a fathers’ rights lawyer, such as one of our experts, offers the greatest chances of appealing the custody decision.
Working with a divorce lawyer in London throughout the divorce proceedings is advisable for fathers looking to protect their rights. Our solicitor will be able to answer your questions concerning not only your obligations to pay child maintenance, but also your rights concerning custody (joint custody with your former spouse, visitation rights, and more). We can also answer specific questions according to your situation.
Table of Contents
What are a father’s legal rights in the UK?
The father has parental responsibility when he is either married to the mother of the child or he is listed on the birth certificate. A man who is unmarried to the mother of the child despite him being the father can gain parental responsibility in the following three ways:
- Registering the birth of the child jointly with the mother;
- Drawing up a parental responsibility agreement with the mother;
- Applying for and obtaining a parental responsibility order from a court.
Our fathers’ rights lawyer can give you more details about these three possibilities.
For a better understanding of parental rights, we present the main description of these below:
- Securing the child’s needs: two important roles are to provide a home and to protect the child;
- Maintenance: another key role for an individual with parental responsibility is to maintain the child;
- Education: the adult is also responsible for choosing and providing for the education and the medical treatment for the child or children;
- Others: disciplining the child, looking for his or her property as well as naming the child and agreement to any subsequent name change.
More than 2 people can have parental responsibility for a child.
What are the father’s obligations after divorce?
The former spouses will not always agree to all matters related to the upbringing of their child or children after divorce. Oftentimes, this means agreeing to a parenting plan and the monthly or weekly maintenance payments for each child, as applicable.
The father has to make sure that the child or children are financially supported. The Child Maintenance Service usually uses a fixed set of rates according to the gross weekly income when determining the weekly amount for child maintenance. We list some examples below:
- 7£: when the gross weekly income of the paying parent is below this amount, there is no rate to be paid;
- 7£ to 100£: the weekly amount to be paid is 7£; the same amount is also due when the paying parent receives benefits;
- 38£: for one child when the gross weekly income is unknown or not provided; for 2 children the amount is 51£ in this case and 61£ for three or more children.
For a gross weekly income between 100.01 £ and 199.99 £ or 200£ to 300 £ the Child Maintenance Service will calculate the rate by using a formula. When the paying parent has a gross weekly income of more than 3,000 £ the parent who receives maintenance can apply for a court order to receive extra child maintenance.
Our fathers’ rights lawyer can help those interested during the maintenance negotiations, especially if the divorce was not an amicable one. By working with a solicitor who specializes in father’s rights you can make sure that your visiting rights or your involvement in important life decisions concerning your child are observed by the mother or the other individual sharing parental responsibility (including but not limited to his/her education and the mother’s wish to relocate from the country).
We also invite you to watch the following video about the rights of a father in the UK:
How can a fathers’ rights lawyer help?
Our solicitors can help fathers who are having issues sharing parental responsibility after divorce. The fact that you may no longer live with your children does not prevent you from spending time with them or being involved in important decisions concerning their life and education.
Although one parent does not always have to get the consent of the other for routine decisions (even if parental responsibility is shared), it is useful to know that our lawyer can help you if your former partner does not observe your rights in major decisions.
We can help you apply for a Specific Issue Order or a Prohibited Steps Order if you cannot agree with the mother of the child. This means that a judge will decide on the best interests of your child.
The following are relevant in terms of making arrangements for your child once you get divorced:
- the child arrangements order: is a court decision on where the child will live and when he or she will spend time with each parent; it can also outline the type of contact the child will have with the parent (telephone calls or in-person visits);
- specific issues order: is issues for more specific matters, usually concerning the upbringing of the child; it can be used to decide on the school the child will go to or to sort religious education issues;
- prohibited steps order: when one parent applies for a court order that prevents the other parent from making certain decisions about the child’s upbringing.
Our fathers’ rights lawyer in the UK will help you apply for any of these orders.
Such as document can help fathers retain their rights, or, in some cases, prevent the mother from relocating the child altogether (moving from the UK and taking the child, thus preventing the father from seeing his or her child as would be otherwise allowed or possible).
Fathers should note that it is possible to have to attend a mediation meeting with the mother beforehand as well as attend several court hearings before any court order can be issued.
In more complex matters, such as domestic abuse, our team can help represent your best interests if the former spouse has unlawfully accused you of this act for the purposes of preventing you to exercise your rights as a father.
Assistance for fathers during divorce
Our team is well aware that divorce proceedings can be an emotionally complicated time for both parties.
Children are the most susceptible to feeling and living with the effects of divorce. One way to minimize this is to ensure that the proceedings are as amicable as possible.
Working with a London divorce lawyer is advisable for fathers who wish to make sure that the court decides favourably on their rights.
Issues concerning visitation and the father’s subsequent involvement in the child’s education and upbringing can be impacted during the divorce process.
Having a supportive divorce attorney by your side will mean that you will rest assured that the negotiation process takes into account your rights as a father.
Our team of lawyers offers complete assistance during a divorce, both in those cases in which there is no court involvement for the divorce arrangements and in those cases in which the court issues a final decision on important child matters such as custody.
As a father who is represented by one of our experienced lawyers, you will be able to understand the implications of a specific issues order or of other court-related decisions that will directly impact the way in which you interact with your child or children after divorce.
If the father is the spouse who applies for divorce, our team will provide the needed assistance during the process.
We can help with the following steps:
- check if you can get a divorce: you will need to have been married for over a year and have your marriage legally recognized in the UK; the union needs to be permanently broken down;
- make the initial arrangements: this is when we will assist you in the discussions with your former spouse about child matters, as well as the general division of property;
- apply for the divorce: this is done online or by post and our lawyers can help you prepare the documents needed for the submission; there is also a mandatory divorce application fee;
- apply for the conditional order: this is the document that testifies to the fact that the court has no reason to not grant your divorce;
- finalise the process: an application is made for a final order; at least 43 days need to pass once you obtain the conditional order before you can apply for the final order.
Our team will help you apply for the final order in due time and avoid the situation in which you would have to explain the delay to the court.
Contact our fathers’ rights lawyer if you are a father looking for legal advice and assistance in solving custody, maintenance or other family law issues.
