Parental Responsibility: Is There Soon To Be A Change In The ‘Force'?

For unmarried fathers in Jersey, knowing what rights and responsibilities one has for one's children can be confusing. In the UK the situation is somewhat simpler: if you are named on the birth certificate, you are automatically endowed with Parental Responsibility (or PR) for the child in question. In Jersey today however, unmarried fathers can only obtain PR in one of two ways: either with the consent of the birth mother, or by way of a Court order. But change is on the horizon.

A draft law has been lodged for debate in the States on 13 September 2016, the purpose of which is to bring Jersey law regarding PR into line with the UK.

With great power comes great responsibility

The question is, what is PR? It can be difficult to define, but in short it is a legal concept which relates to a parent's duties and responsibilities for a child. The focus is on responsibilities in relation to children, rather than 'rights' as such. So, for example, day to day