Are you your child's legal parent?

What does it mean to be a legal parent?

In England & Wales, being a legal parent means that you have financial responsibility for your child and will be considered as a parent for the purposes of British nationality, inheritance, and pension rights. Unfortunately, revolving your life around your little person is not enough to make you a legal parent.

In England & Wales, a child can only have two legal parents. 

The first parent is automatically the birthing mother – even if she has no genetic link to the child. The identity of the second parent will depend on how your child was conceived and in what circumstances. Conception is not straightforward and legal parentage can be confusing. 

However, to give you an idea of when you would be a legal parent, I have set out some examples:

• If conception took place through sperm donation at a UK registered clinic, the second legal parent will be the person who is named on the paperwork at the clinic.
• If conception took place through sexual intercourse or through artificial insemination (but not at a UK registered clinic), the biological father will be the other legal parent.
•  If the birth mother is married or in a civil partnership at the time of conception, and conception took place through artificial insemination, the spouse or civil partner will be the other legal parent (even if they do not have a biological link).

 The above is not an exhaustive list. Please note that being a legal parent is different to having “Parental Responsibility” (PR) for your child. More than two people can have PR. 

You can read about PR on the following https://www.gov.uk/parental-rights-responsibilities.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are uncertain about your position in Law, please do not hesitate to contact me via farrah.harvey-nawaz@birkettlong.co.uk  or call me on 01245 453818 for a free 15-minute call.

Just because you may not be a legal parent now, does not mean that you cannot become one!