parental responsibility

Definition

noun
  • a concept introduced by the Children’s Act 1989, which encompasses all the rights, duties and responsibilities that by law a parent of a child is entitled to have.
    Former name custody
COMMENT Parental responsibility is automatically acquired by both parents if married and in cases of unmarried couples, given to the mother alone. An unmarried father is able to acquire parental responsibility by consent of the mother or by obtaining a parental responsibility order which is issued by a court.
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