[Solved] Step-parent responsibility and maintenance

I can't quite recall the situation with regards to maintenance, but I would ask why you want PR anyway - you can go for a contact order without having PR as far as I recall (not sure how that fits into the new child arrangement orders) which would presumably give you what you were after, and I don't think that would then attach and financial liability.

I'll ask the CCLC is they can comment on this one.

That's good. I thought I would need PR to get contact order. I will need to be certain that is correct before I apply. I am applying for contact order for my biological son as well so do you know if that is one C100 form or two (one for each child)?

I also want PR so that I can weigh in on two issues:
1) To allow my eldest to see his biological Father
2)He also has a minor but ongoing (4 years) medical condition involving some psychological issues which, if not dealt with, will lead to problems in later life and which his mother (in my opinion) is consitantly failing to address.

Hi eadweard

Thank you for your post. I am William the Child Maintenance Options consultant. I will provide some information that may help answer your query.

If you are interested in finding out more about parental responsibility, you may wish to visit the Government website Gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/parental-rights-responsibilities. In terms of enquiring about your contact rights to see the other parent’s eldest child, you may wish to seek legal advice. If you do not have access to a solicitor, you may wish to contact the Citizens Advice Bureau as they can provide information on legal topics. More information about this organisation including their contact details can be found on their website at http://www.adviceguide.org.uk.

With regards to using the Child Maintenance Service, an application can be made even if a parent is not named on the child’s birth certificate. If the person who is asked to pay maintenance denies that they are the parent, the Child Maintenance Service classes this as a disputed parentage case. If a claim is made to the Child Maintenance Service, they will ask the person named if they accept that they are the child's parent. If they deny it, the Child Maintenance Service will look into the reasons why and ask them to provide evidence to support their denial. You can find more information about the disputed parentage process on Gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance/disagreements-about-parentage. For further guidance, you may wish to contact the Child Maintenance Service directly.

For more information on the ways to set up child maintenance, please visit our website at http://www.cmoptions.org. Alternatively, you can call us free on 0800 988 0988 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday or 9am and 4pm on a Saturday. We have a sorting out separation web-app that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is: www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation.

Regards

William

So the simple answer is, no. A child has to be biological or adopted for a case to be opened with the CSA.

It's this part that was confusing the issue for me:

"If you have parental responsibility, your most important roles are to:
- provide a home for the child
- protect and maintain the child"

Thanks for the help

Dear Eadweard

We can confirm that you should apply for a Child Arrangements Order. However, we would advise you to submit two separate C100 forms for your Son and Stepson; on the grounds that your relationship with the two children is different and is your right to contact. As the biological father to your son your right to consistent contact is far greater than what it would be for your Stepson. On this basis, we would therefore suggest that you also submit a C1 form in conjunction with a C100 form, when making an application for a Child arrangements order for your Stepson. The effect of the C1 form is to ask for the court's permission to start proceedings for contact with your Stepson.

On the C1 form, you can also choose to request a Parental Responsibility Order for your eldest son. The Court will then consider whether they feel making such an order would be in your son's best interests.

In order to apply for a Child Arrangements Order, you must submit a court fee of £215 to the Family court near to where your Son and Stepson live, along With a C100 form. The form is available online at www.justice.gov.uk or alternatively from the Family Court. Three copies of this form must be submitted to the Family Court, as well as any evidence that you have gone through mediation. Please also be aware that the family welfare court services group CAFCASS are likely join the proceedings at the judge's request to produce a report on your child's welfare, should you apply for Contact by a Child Arrangements Order. The C1 form referred to earlier can also be locatedonline.

Although it is advisable to submit two separate forms for each child, you may be eligible for the court exemption fee, which exists in all courts in England and Wales. This is a process whereby an applicant may be eligible to pay a reduced court fee. If you are interested in applying to this scheme, please fill out and send an EX160A form to your local Family Court. This form can be found online at www.justice.gov.uk or upon request at your local Family Court. In case you are not eligible for the court fee exemption and do not wish to send two separate forms, you can try to apply for a Child Arrangements Order for both children on a singular C100 form, however we cannot guarantee the success of your application.

We like to remind all people applying for a Child Arrangements Order to please bear in mind that the court will consider a variety of factors called the welfare checklist when deciding whether to grant an order. The factors the court will consider include:
• The wishes and feelings of the child concerned;
• The child’s physical, emotional and educational needs;
• The likely effect on the child if circumstances changed as a result of the courts decision;
• The child’s age, [censored], background and any other characteristics which will be relevant to the courts decision;
• Any harm the child has suffered or maybe at risk of suffering;
• Capability of the child’s parents or any other person the courts find relevant at meeting the child’s needs;
• The powers available to the court in the proceedings.

We would also advise that the best course of action, should the biological father of your eldest son wish to have contact, that he seek legal advice and take similar action to you in this matter.

Overall we advise you to please think carefully before making an application for a Child Arrangement Order, as it is often quite time-consuming and expensive. Consequently, we encourage all parents and Step-Parents to participate in family mediation when they are unable to agree on a decision concerning the upbringing of a child. If you would like to pursue mediation, I would advise you to contact the National Family Mediation service, on 0300 4000 636. Mediation is now mandatory and must be attempted before any application to the court is made.

If you should need any more information on this matter or would like to talk about it in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact us again on 08088 020 008 between Mon-Fri 8am-8pm.

Yours sincerely

Coram Children’s Legal Centre.

Thank you so much to the CCLC for that last reply of invaluable information. I have been uncertain of whether to press forward, mainly due to my lack of knowledge.

I have a FM1 form completed by the mediator, their mother refused mediation.

When applying for the fee remission, are the fees considered together or separately? If together I will receive some discount on £430.

I will make two separate applications to the court. Can you clarify the C1 and C2 forms? I was under the impression that I should submit C1 and C100 forms for my son, but C2 and C100 forms for my stepson. The C2 being to ask the court's permission to start proceedings, as I do not meet the requirements - my stepson did not live with me for more than three years, I have not adopted him, his mother and I were not married. Can I still apply on the C2 form for a Parental Responsibility order, would I have to submit an extra fee for the PR order? Would I have much chance of success if both mother and father are opposed?

Bump @ChildrensLegalCentre

Bump @ChildrensLegalCentre

Sorry, we missed passing this on to the CCLC - done now so hopefully you'll get a reply in the next few days.

Hi Eadweard,

Just to clarify when you are applying in relation to contact with your step son you will need to use the C100 and C2 forms. The C100 form is the main application form for a Child Arrangements Order and the C2 form is the form required to apply for permission, or leave, of the court. In deciding on whether or not to grant you permission the court will base their decision on:

• Your connection to the child; and
• The nature of your application, i.e. for contact; and
• The risk your application could pose of causing disruption or harm to the child’s life.

In deciding on whether or not to grant the Child Arrangements Order the court, as noted above, would base their decision on the welfare of the child using the welfare checklist.

In relation to your own biological son you will only need to use the C100 form to apply for the Child Arrangements Order, as his biological father you will not need leave of the court. You would only need to use a C1 form for your son if you needed to apply for a Parental Responsibility Order for him. However you may not need to do this as you may already have Parental Responsibility (PR) for your son. To clarify you will have PR for your biological son if:

• You were married to the mother at the time of the child’s birth; or
• You subsequently married the mother after the birth of the child; or
• Your child’s birth was registered after 01/12/2003 and you are named on your child’s birth certificate; or
• You have entered into a Parental Responsibility Agreement with the mother; or
• You have had a Parental Responsibility Order granted in your favour by the courts; or
• You have had residence of the children awarded in your favour through a Residence or Child Arrangements Order by the courts.

If any of the above are the case then you already have PR for your son and would not need to use the C1 form for you applications.

In relation to pursuing PR for your stepson you will only be able to do this if you are married to the mother. An unmarried step parent can only obtain PR by way of an order granting them residence of the child, from the information provided it does not appear you are seeking residence of the child, or by adopting the child. Step Parental Responsibility Orders are only available for married step parents and cannot be applied for by unmarried step parents.

If you are married to the mother then you can apply to court for a Step Parental Responsibility Order using a C1 form. You can use the same C2 form in relation to leave for both the application for PR and the application for a Child Arrangements Order.

The fees for the above applications are as follows, £215 for each Child Arrangements Order and for the Parental Responsibility Order, and £155 for the application for permission from the court. The fee exemption form as detailed previously can be used for all these fees.

If you require any further advice please do not hesitate to contact us. Our advice line phone service on 08088020008 is available Mon-Fri between 8:00-20:00.

Kind Regards,

Coram Children’s Legal Centre