As family structures become increasingly complex, understanding the rights and responsibilities of each person involved in a child’s upbringing can be difficult.
At Howells Solicitors, we have a specialist childcare department dedicated to ensuring that each of these individuals receives the advice and support they need to ensure their interests are fairly represented.
Here, we take a look at the difference between legal father vs biological father rights, and highlight the responsibilities of each.
Legal Father Vs Biological Father
The male parent of a child is known as their father. A man can become a father either as a result of impregnating a woman (a biological father) or by gaining parental responsibility (a legal father).
Does a Biological Father Have Rights?
The biological father of a child is the person whose genetic material the child inherited, either as a result of natural conception or sperm donation. However, a child’s biological father is not automatically considered its legal father and does not automatically have parental responsibility.
Biological fathers have parental responsibility if:
- They are married to the child’s mother at the time of the child’s birth, or they marry the child’s mother after the birth.
- They are registered as the child’s father on the birth certificate (if the registration took place after 1st December 2003).
- The mother and father have both signed an authorised agreement giving the father parental responsibility.
- A court order gives them parental responsibility.
Paternal Responsibility: Legal Father Meaning
More than two people can have parental responsibility for a child. For more information on parental responsibility, please watch the following video, in which family law expert Karis Wookey answers common queries regarding custody and childcare.
What Rights Does a Non Biological Father Have That a Legal Father Does Not?
A child’s biological father has no legal rights towards them unless they have parental responsibility. However, parental responsibility does not affect the duty a parent has to maintain their child financially. All parents have a duty to pay towards their child’s upbringing, whether or not they have parental responsibility.
A father with parental responsibility for a child has the right to make decisions about their care and upbringing, and important decisions regarding the child must be agreed upon by all those with parental responsibility.
If those with parental responsibility cannot agree on specific issues relating to a child’s upbringing, a ‘specific issue order’ or a ‘prohibited steps order’ can be applied for in court.
What Are a Father’s Rights to Child Custody?
It is important to note that those with parental responsibility do not automatically have the right to contact with or custody of a child. Child access rights are a separate issue, and if an agreement between parents cannot be made outside of court, it can be awarded by applying for a ‘child arrangement order’.
Both biological parents can apply for this type of court order, as can anyone else with parental responsibility.
What Rights Does a Non Biological Father Have?
With couples nowadays often divorcing and remarrying, stepfathers taking an active role in raising a child is not uncommon. But what rights does a non-biological father have?
When entering a relationship with a person who isn’t their child’s biological father, mothers can still choose to put their partner’s name on the child’s birth certificate if the relationship predates the birth.
Alternatively, a non-biological father can obtain paternal responsibility rights by marrying the mother of a child or jointly signing an authorised agreement which grants the stepfather the parental responsibility.
Things become a bit more complicated in the case of a relationship breakdown between the biological parent and a non-biological parent. For instance, the non-biological father was in a civil partnership or married to the biological parent, they have the right to apply for a ‘child arrangements order’.
However, in the absence of such legal connection between the biological and stepparent, the non-biological father would have to prove an existing close connection with the child to even gain permission for the application.
Gaining Parental Responsibility
There are two ways for a biological father to gain parental responsibility. They can either agree with the child’s mother and sign a parental responsibility agreement, or — if an agreement cannot be reached — apply for a court order.
As we touched upon above, a non biological father’s rights when it comes to parental responsibility are more convoluted, depending on the relationship between them and the biological parent.
Where paternity is an issue, the court can direct the use of scientific tests to establish it. Whether you’re a biological father or a non biological father, if you think you need the court to decide the issue of paternity, contact our team of experienced and sensitive childcare solicitors for advice.
