It is usually in a child’s best interest that both parents are involved in the important decisions regarding a child’s life, but are there circumstances in which this is not the case?
Where both parents have parental responsibility then they both will be involved in making the major decisions in their children’s lives including those relating to schooling, religion and medical matters. There will be times where parents disagree and both will believe that their position is best for the child. On far rarer occasions the exercise of parental responsibility may be used inappropriately and for reasons other than the consideration of what is best for the child.
Simply because a parent does not agree with the other parent or one parent is not having contact with their child does not mean that a parent should not be included when major decisions need to be made. Where there are disagreements then, if agreement cannot be reached out of court, then an application can be made for a judge to make the decision.
If parental responsibility is being used or could be used inappropriately it may be possible to restrict a parent’s parental responsibility where it would not be in the child’s best interest for that parent to be able to exercise their parental responsibility.
The restriction of a parent’s right to exercise parental responsibility is a draconian measure and is not approached lightly by the court. A prohibited steps order is a means to place specific restrictions on a parent’s right to exercise their parental responsibility. It does not remove their parental responsibility but does mean that for certain decisions the other parent does not have to consult them.
Circumstances in which a court may consider taking this drastic step depend on the facts in each case. Karen Prichard and myself have had success in obtaining this type of restriction, but it is the exception rather than the rule and for the majority of cases the court will not restrict a parent’s parental responsibility even where one party has behaved badly towards the other.
For more information on family matters or to find out how we can help you, please contact our Family Team on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our Team will be in touch.