The first issue that needs to be addressed is parental responsibility. The mother automatically has this simply by giving birth to the child. The father can achieve this in one of four ways:
- Marrying the child’s mother
- Listed on the birth certificate
- Parental responsibility agreement
- Change to Parental Responsibility Order
Parental responsibility is important so that the father can have a say in the following:
- Choosing the child’s education
- Agreeing to child’s medical treatment
- Naming the child and agreeing to any change of name
If an unmarried father wants contact with their child, the courts have one main focus, which will always be the same for every case they receive, the welfare of the child.
A judge will only act in the best interest of a child and will advise each parent accordingly, should the need arise. Cases vary from family to family and where one father may see his children once every fortnight, another father may see his children every other day.
When making arrangements for the children, both parents will need to consider if the children are at school and their commitments, the work commitments of each parent (it may not be viable for a parent to have a child every weekend, if for example they are a shift worker) or simply that it may not be practical for a child to move from house to house every weekend depending on their age.
Haley comments:
What should always be remembered is there is more than one form of contact. Today is a modern world, ever advancing and there are various methods of how children can have indirect contact with their fathers either via emails, text messages and calls. Just because a father may only see the children every other weekend, does not mean to say that he cannot communicate with his children or wish them goodnight.
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