To mark Father's Day, David Cameron spoke to the Daily Telegraph
regarding runaway fathers.
In this article, the Prime Minister was quoted as saying it
"simply isn't acceptable" for mothers to be left to bring up
children on their own.
He went on to say that even when parents separate, fathers have
a duty to support their children "financially and emotionally",
spending time with them, attending school shows and taking an
interest in their education.
The flip side of this, however, is fathers who want to be
involved in their child's life but don't have Parental Rights and
Responsibilities. There are two instances where fathers have
automatic Parental Rights and Responsibilities:-
- Where the parents are married at the date of conception or any
time thereafter
- If the child was born after 4th May 2006, if the father is
registered on the birth certificate
The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 covers Parental Rights and
Responsibilities and a PRR agreement can be entered into by the
child's parents if they both co-operate. Alternatively an
application can be made to court.
A PRR Agreement is a legal document which shows that a mother
who has PRRs and the child's father, have both agreed that the
mother should share her PRRs with the child's father.
Entering into such an agreement is an important
step. A Scottish Family Law Solicitor can help you enter into
such an agreement.
To qualify for such an agreement the following should
apply:-
- The child must already have been born
- The father does not already have PRRs in relation to the
child
- The mother has not had her PRRs taken away from her by an order
of court
- The father is the child's natural father as opposed to being a
step father or partner of the child's mother
Once both parties have signed an agreement, it should then be
registered with Registers of Scotland. Once the agreement has been
registered, it can only be changed or ended by an order of
court. The court can also make orders to remove some or all
of the PRRs from the parent.
It should be remembered that all parents, whether they have PRRs
or not, have a duty to maintain their children.