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Family Solicitor Trethowans look at the legal position of unmarried fathers in the light of recent revelations about Ed Milinand not being named as his son’s father on the birth certificate. Ed Miliband recently revealed that he had “not had time” to register himself as the father of his son, Daniel. As an unmarried father, it would have been necessary for Mr Miliband to attend at the Register Office together with his partner, Justine Thornton if he wished to be named as Daniel’s father on the birth certificate. As he did not do so, there will be a blank space where the father’s name should appear. If he did not have time to attend the Register Office, one can only assume he has not had time either to attend at a Court Office in order to enter into a Parental Responsibility Agreement together with Ms Thornton. The result being, therefore, that Mr Miliband most likely does not currently share parental responsibility with Ms Thornton for Daniel. This means that Mr Miliband is not automatically entitled to be consulted as to any important decisions that may need to be made with reference to Daniel’s welfare, now or in the future. Parental responsibility entitles a parent to make decisions with reference to the provision of a child’s education; determining their religion; consenting to medical treatment, the child’s marriage, adoption, emigration and even the disposal of a child’s body. Until the end of 2003, unmarried fathers were unable to share parental responsibility with the mother of their child unless they jointly entered into a formal written agreement; the parents married or the father was successful with an application to Court for a Parental Responsibility Order. Recognising that unmarried fathers played as important a role in their children’s lives as married fathers and following pressure from action groups including Fathers for Justice, the law was amended with effect from 1 December 2003, so that where an unmarried father is named as the child’s father on the birth certificate, he will automatically share parental responsibility with the mother. If, however, the father is not named on the certificate and the mother does not subsequently agree to enter into a formal Agreement, the father is left with no option other than to make application to the Court for an Order. This can prove to be a costly and time-consuming exercise and is likely to cause further tensions in what could be an already acrimonious relationship. Fortunately, Mr Miliband and Ms Thornton’s relationship seems stable and secure and another baby is on the way. It is not too late for him to be named on Daniel’s birth certificate now and share those important rights and duties that come with parental responsibility. If Ms Thornton is agreeable, he simply needs to enter into a Parental Responsibility Agreement with her, a copy of which can then be sent to the Registrar General together with a written request that he be named on the certificate. Hopefully, he will find the time to attend at the Register Office when the time comes to register the birth of his next baby! For more information about Family Solicitor Trethowans and the services they provide, visit the Trethowans website at http://www.trethowans.com/. Ref: TEL-HS-0110101
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