PREP TASK
CONTEXT
Mark has separated from his wife Alex [married for 8 years]
Mark & Alex have one child together, Gemma
Alex also has a son from her first marriage, Ben
Ben lived with them and Mark treated him as his own
Ben’s father Peter works aboard and sees Ben when he is in the
country + keep in touch online
Mark sees G & B once a week and has overnight staying contact with
them
1. Please draft a letter to Mark explaining how he can obtain
parental responsbility for Ben and whether he is likely to be
successful
The relationship between the client and Ben is of stepfather & stepson
[i.e. modern family]
PAGE 198 TEXTBOOK
Page 192 para 13.2.3.2 for step parents
Appendix 1 (e) PAGE 330 TEXTBOOK [PAGE 331 FOR STEP
PARENTS]
PAGE 30 LPC BUDDY
(a) How he can obtain PR:
The meaning of parental responsbility:
Section 3(1) of the Children Act 1989
It is described as all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and
authority which by law the parent of a child has in relation to the child
and his property
Therefore, in practice this gives the parent the responsbility for taking
all of the important decisions in a child’s life e.g. their education,
religious upbringing, medical care and procedures as well as day to day
decisions such as what they eat, what they do when they go out, who
they will see, etc
Who currently has PR for Ben:
Alexandra, Ben’s mother automatically has PR for him.
Ben’s biological father, Peter also has PR for him. This is because we
are told that Peter was married to Alex and married parents have joint
parental responsbility.
Similarly Mark will have PR of his daughter Gemma because they were
also married at the time Gemma was born, but he will not have PR of
Ben.
Acquiring PR
Mark is seeking to share PR with both Alex & Peter
, How can he acquire PR as a step parent…[two possible reasons given
below]
1. Parental responsbility agreement
Under section 4A(1)(a) of the Children Act, Mark can acquire PR by
entering into a parental responsbility agreement PROVIDED both of the
parents with PR agree [i.e. Alex & Peter are the parents with PR]
S 4A allows stepparents + civil partners to obtain PR with consent of all
the parents with PR OR to apply to the court for a PR order.
In this instance, we would advise Mark to see if Alex & Peter would
agree to enter into a PR agreement with him and/or we could write to
them on his behalf to request this [based on the facts it is not clear if
there is any dispute with Mark having PR]
Potentially, Peter may not agree to him having PR other Ben because it
can be expected/likely that a biological father may not be so keen on a
new father stepping into the father role and making decisions/having
parental responsbility on their child. Therefore this may be a problem
with getting Peter to agree on this.
Formalities of a parental responsbility agreement
This agreement is in a prescribed form
In respect to signing the agreement, the signatures of all of the parties
must be witnessed by a Justice of the Peace, a Justices’ Clerk of their
assistant or a court officer authorised by the judge to administer Oaths
[but NOT a solicitor]
Once signed and witnessed the original and copies will be sent to the
central Family Court where it will be formally recorded and sealed
copies returned to each of the parties.
There is no fee payable for this.
The agreement will only end when the child reaches 18 years of age
[unless a court order ending it has been obtained]
The Likelihood of success of obtaining a PR agreement:
There is nothing on the facts to suggest he would or would not be able
to obtain a PR agreement in his favour.
We do not know Peters [the bio dads’] stance on this and whether he
has already been consulted.
Peter might agree on the basis that Mark has already been looking
after Ben and he may support their relationship.
Is Mark comfortable contacting Peter himself or does he have a good
enough relationship with the mother, Alex because he could either
arrange it directly, he has contact with the bio father or he Alex could
contact Peter on Marks behalf.
Additionally, we do not know the mother’s position on this. Is there
some resentment following the separation? She still allows Ben to see
CONTEXT
Mark has separated from his wife Alex [married for 8 years]
Mark & Alex have one child together, Gemma
Alex also has a son from her first marriage, Ben
Ben lived with them and Mark treated him as his own
Ben’s father Peter works aboard and sees Ben when he is in the
country + keep in touch online
Mark sees G & B once a week and has overnight staying contact with
them
1. Please draft a letter to Mark explaining how he can obtain
parental responsbility for Ben and whether he is likely to be
successful
The relationship between the client and Ben is of stepfather & stepson
[i.e. modern family]
PAGE 198 TEXTBOOK
Page 192 para 13.2.3.2 for step parents
Appendix 1 (e) PAGE 330 TEXTBOOK [PAGE 331 FOR STEP
PARENTS]
PAGE 30 LPC BUDDY
(a) How he can obtain PR:
The meaning of parental responsbility:
Section 3(1) of the Children Act 1989
It is described as all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and
authority which by law the parent of a child has in relation to the child
and his property
Therefore, in practice this gives the parent the responsbility for taking
all of the important decisions in a child’s life e.g. their education,
religious upbringing, medical care and procedures as well as day to day
decisions such as what they eat, what they do when they go out, who
they will see, etc
Who currently has PR for Ben:
Alexandra, Ben’s mother automatically has PR for him.
Ben’s biological father, Peter also has PR for him. This is because we
are told that Peter was married to Alex and married parents have joint
parental responsbility.
Similarly Mark will have PR of his daughter Gemma because they were
also married at the time Gemma was born, but he will not have PR of
Ben.
Acquiring PR
Mark is seeking to share PR with both Alex & Peter
, How can he acquire PR as a step parent…[two possible reasons given
below]
1. Parental responsbility agreement
Under section 4A(1)(a) of the Children Act, Mark can acquire PR by
entering into a parental responsbility agreement PROVIDED both of the
parents with PR agree [i.e. Alex & Peter are the parents with PR]
S 4A allows stepparents + civil partners to obtain PR with consent of all
the parents with PR OR to apply to the court for a PR order.
In this instance, we would advise Mark to see if Alex & Peter would
agree to enter into a PR agreement with him and/or we could write to
them on his behalf to request this [based on the facts it is not clear if
there is any dispute with Mark having PR]
Potentially, Peter may not agree to him having PR other Ben because it
can be expected/likely that a biological father may not be so keen on a
new father stepping into the father role and making decisions/having
parental responsbility on their child. Therefore this may be a problem
with getting Peter to agree on this.
Formalities of a parental responsbility agreement
This agreement is in a prescribed form
In respect to signing the agreement, the signatures of all of the parties
must be witnessed by a Justice of the Peace, a Justices’ Clerk of their
assistant or a court officer authorised by the judge to administer Oaths
[but NOT a solicitor]
Once signed and witnessed the original and copies will be sent to the
central Family Court where it will be formally recorded and sealed
copies returned to each of the parties.
There is no fee payable for this.
The agreement will only end when the child reaches 18 years of age
[unless a court order ending it has been obtained]
The Likelihood of success of obtaining a PR agreement:
There is nothing on the facts to suggest he would or would not be able
to obtain a PR agreement in his favour.
We do not know Peters [the bio dads’] stance on this and whether he
has already been consulted.
Peter might agree on the basis that Mark has already been looking
after Ben and he may support their relationship.
Is Mark comfortable contacting Peter himself or does he have a good
enough relationship with the mother, Alex because he could either
arrange it directly, he has contact with the bio father or he Alex could
contact Peter on Marks behalf.
Additionally, we do not know the mother’s position on this. Is there
some resentment following the separation? She still allows Ben to see
