How our specialist solicitors can help
Whether you already have a child or you are planning to, our expert co-parenting solicitors can help you reach an agreement centred on your child’s best interests, that works for you all, so you can move forward together with clarity, certainty and confidence.
Why draw up a co-parenting agreement?
If you are entering into a parenting arrangement, you may wish to consider creating a co-parenting agreement.
Although not legally binding, this comprehensive document will set out your agreed intentions for the future. Preparing a co-parenting agreement can help identify any mismatch in expectations between you, easing the path for everybody involved and enabling any disputes to be resolved more smoothly.
The agreement will be bespoke to your particular co-parenting arrangement. Examples of what a co-parenting agreement might cover include:
- What role each parent will play in the child’s life
- Who the child will live with and where
- What each parent’s financial responsibility is
- Expectations around education
- How much time the parents will spend together with the child
Co-parenting agreements and legal parenthood
A co-parenting agreement does not grant legal parenthood or parental responsibility, so it’s important that it clearly states who the legal parents are as there can only be two.
A legal parent is financially responsible for the child. Legal parenthood can also determine inheritance rights. However, the law can be complex in recognising who a child’s legal parent is.
In the UK, the person who gives birth is always recognised as a legal parent unless they choose to relinquish their status through adoption or a parental order. The other legal parent will be determined by the marital/civil partner status of the parties involved, and where and how conception takes place. It is therefore important to understand the arrangement you are entering into and who will acquire legal parent status.
Co-parenting and parental responsibility
Parental responsibility is the right to make important decisions about the welfare and day to day upbringing of the child. It’s possible to be a legal parent without having parental responsibility and vice versa. If a person is named on the birth certificate, that person will have legal parental responsibility for the child unless they relinquish it.
There is no limit to the number of people who can have parental responsibility. It can be acquired after the birth of the child for those who do not automatically acquire parental status.
If a co-parenting arrangement is being entered into, we recommend seeking legal advice to ensure that everyone involved understands who has legal parenthood and any other legal status, such as parental responsibility, is obtained for those who do not have it.
Co-parenting disputes
In this video, family law partner, Clare Webb, explains your options for tackling any co-parenting challenge you are facing following the breakdown of your relationship with the other parent.
