How do you Remove Parental Responsibility from a Father?

In this blog, our family law solicitors look at the concept of parental responsibility and how, in exceptional circumstances, some fathers can have it removed.

Contact Evolve Family Law Today for Family Law Advice.

What is parental responsibility?

Under the Children Act 1989, parental responsibility is defined as the legal rights, duties, powers, responsibilities, and authority a parent has for a child.

​Who has parental responsibility for a child?

A biological mother automatically has parental responsibility for their child. If others have parental responsibility for a child, the responsibility is shared equally; the mother’s parental responsibility does not give her more rights than the others with parental responsibility for the child.

Family law says that a biological father has parental responsibility for his child if he falls into one of these criteria:

1. The father is married to the child’s mother or in a civil partnership with her.
2. The father was married to the child’s mother, but they are now separated or divorced.
3. The father was not married to the mother, but the child was born after 1 December 2003, and the father is named on the child’s birth certificate.
4. The father and mother signed a parental responsibility agreement to give the father parental responsibility.
5. The father obtained a parental responsibility order from the family court.

What does it mean to share parental responsibility with a father?

Understanding what parental responsibility means is vital before you can consider what is involved in sharing it with your ex-partner, or whether it is necessary to try to remove it.

Parental Responsibility is defined as the obligations and responsibilities a parent (or anyone else who has parental responsibility) has for a child. If you have parental responsibility for your child, you have:

1. A say in major parenting decisions, such as the choice of a new school or whether a young child should follow a vegan diet or be brought up in a specific faith.
2.  The right to receive information, such as school reports or medical information.
3. The ability to give consent on behalf of your child. If the other parent does not agree to what you are consenting to on behalf of your child, then you can ask the court to make a prohibited steps order or a specific issue order.

How should parents share parental responsibility?

Ideally, parents should try to reach an agreement on any aspects of parenting where they cannot agree on what is best for their child. The disputed issue could be as simple as whether a child should have their ears pierced or eat a gluten-free diet, or be as complicated as whether a child should have major surgery or be taken overseas to live after a parental separation.

Family mediators, family counsellors, and family law solicitors can help parents reach an agreement on aspects of parenting where there is parental disagreement.

Problems with sharing parental responsibility for your child 

It can be challenging to share parental responsibility for a child, particularly if you are separated or divorced and:

• You are the one who carries out all the day-to-day care of the child, but the other parent thinks they know best.
• The other parent is working but will not provide financial maintenance or child support.
• The other parent does not have contact with the child or only does so infrequently, at times to suit them.
• You and the other parent have different parenting styles, routines and attitudes to how best to bring up a child.
• You had an acrimonious separation, or there was domestic violence during the relationship
• You think that your ex-partner is only using their parental responsibility to try and maintain a relationship with you, or to control you, and they are not interested in the child and what is in the child’s best interests.

When does parental responsibility end? 

Parental responsibility will end when:

1. A child reaches 18 years, or
2. A child gets married, or
3. A child arrangement order is discharged provided the parental responsibility was conferred by the making of the child arrangement order, or
4. The child is adopted or made the subject of a parental order, or
5. The court makes a family law order under the Children Act to end a father’s parental responsibility.

How do you remove parental responsibility from a mother?

The law says that a biological mother of a child can only lose parental responsibility for her child if the child is adopted or the child is made the subject of a parental order after a surrogacy arrangement. The law is different when it comes to fathers losing parental responsibility for their child.

How do you remove parental responsibility from a father?

If a father is or was married to the child’s mother or is or was in a civil partnership, then he has automatic parental responsibility for the child. This means the mother cannot ask the court to order the removal of the father’s parental responsibility. However, the mother can apply to the family court for other orders. For example, she could ask the court to make a child arrangement order that says her child lives with her and is to have no contact with their father.

If an unmarried father has obtained parental responsibility for his child by signing a parental responsibility agreement or by a parental responsibility court order, then an application can be made to the court to remove his parental responsibility for his child.

The law says that a family law judge should only terminate a father’s parental responsibility for the child if:

1. The circumstances are exceptional, and
2. The termination of parental responsibility is in the child’s best interests.

The court will not end an unmarried father’s parental responsibility for his child because he has decided to separate, is not having contact or is not paying child support. These are not considered to be exceptional situations.

Applying to the court to remove a father’s parental responsibility

It is best to take specialist parental responsibility advice from a family law solicitor before applying to court to remove a father’s parental responsibility, as a court will only end a father’s parental responsibility if the circumstances are exceptional and if the father did not have automatic parental responsibility by virtue of their marriage or civil partnership.

The types of exceptional situations that have led to the ending of parental responsibility include:

1. Significant and extended domestic violence.
2. Physical abuse of a child.
3. Committed child sexual abuse.

An absent parent will not usually meet the exceptional criteria, nor will a parent who fails to pay child support.

Factors the court considers when ordering the termination of parental responsibility

The family court will consider the following when deciding whether to terminate parental responsibility:

1. The best interests of the child.
2. The child’s wishes and feelings, if the child is of such age and understanding to have a view.
3. Any physical, sexual or emotional abuse the child has experienced.
4. The capacity of each parent to meet their child’s needs.
5. The parents’ involvement in the child’s life.
6. Any previous misuse of parental responsibility.

Alternative court orders to an order ending parental responsibility 

Although a mother may struggle to secure an order to remove a father’s parental responsibility, they may be successful in getting other children’s law orders to resolve the difficulties of sharing parental responsibility where there is ongoing disagreement. Available orders include:

• Child arrangement orders.
• Specific issue orders.
• Prohibited steps orders.

Although these court orders do not remove a father’s parental responsibility for his child, they can significantly limit the father’s involvement in the child’s upbringing. For example, a child arrangement order can stop direct contact between a father and a child, a prohibited steps order can stop a father from attending a child’s school or nursery, and an injunction order can prevent the father from going to the child’s home address.

An experienced children law solicitor will talk to you about the alternatives to a court application, such as a roundtable meeting, or they can provide legal support during family mediation.

Change in the law on ending parental responsibility 

In October 2025, the government announced plans to automatically restrict the exercise of parental responsibility in situations where a person with parental responsibility has been convicted of a serious sexual offence against any child, and where a child is born of rape. These changes will be brought into force through the Victims and Courts Bill.

Contact Evolve Family Law

At Evolve Family Law, our children law specialists can advise you on the meaning and scope of parental responsibility and what you can do with it. We are highly experienced in helping parents resolve parental disputes and, in exceptional situations, in securing orders to terminate parental responsibility.

Contact Evolve Family Law Today for Family Law Advice.