Parental responsibilities can be an important issue to settle when the parents are divorced and are not in an amicable relationship. Many couples can agree to maintain those responsibilities, but some find it difficult, requiring a parenting order.
But what does parental responsibility entitle to you, and how does it work? This article reveals everything about parental responsibility, the law and other associated things regarding this.
Parental Responsibility Definition
Parenting responsibility is a legal process in Canada for the betterment of the children. And after the divorce, parents need to maintain some roles and responsibilities towards the children.
Normally parental responsibilities include rights, duties, power, accountability, and authority a parent has for a child and the child’s property up to 18 years old. And if you are a person with parental responsibility, you have the right to make an important decision for caring and upbringing of the children.
Parental responsibilities are very important for the protection and safety of the children. Also, it is very much concerned with the upbringing of the child.
The Law
Canada has a very distinct parental responsibility act. And the law is the parental responsibility act-2000, which defines a “child” as anyone less than 18 years old. A “parent” can be the adoptive, biological, or legal guardian who has a legal right of custody or right to access.
Now move on to the parental responsibility entitlement.
The Parental Responsibilities Entitlement
The legal term parental responsibility emphasizes the activities by parents, including making important decisions of a child’s life. And the responsibilities can be any of the following also:
- Deciding the residing place of children
- Providing proper children medical treatment
- Confirming the children an adequate education
- Taking care of the child’s religious value
- Naming of the child and registering their birth
- Giving consent on any kind of leave of the child from the country
In a nutshell, parental responsibility means ensuring basic responsibility for their children’s food, clothing, housing, medical care, and education.
Automatic Parental Responsibility
The following are situations when someone can be entitled to automatic parental responsibility.
- Being a birth mother, she can automatically entitle to parental responsibility
- Being a father legally married to a mother
- Continuing the marriage till the time of the childbirth
On the other hand, if the father is not married or in a civil partnership with the mother, you can’t get automatic parental responsibilities.
And also, if you are a stepfather or a stepmother, you are not eligible for automatic parental duties. For the grandparents, they are not automatically entitled to parental responsibilities.
When You Don’t Live with Your Children
Being a father or mother, sometimes you may need to live separately from the children. And the children are not living with you.
Under this circumstance, you may have rights and responsibilities to your children. The fact is that parental responsibility does not disappear even if you are not living with your children.
After all, you need to ensure that your children have properly been cared for and their living requirements are fulfilled. Being a parent with parental responsibility, you can also ask and know what is going on in their life. Further, you need to look after their health and ensure proper education and growing up.
It is also your responsibility to track movement and important updates of their life.
Final Thought
Parental responsibility entitlement is crucial for a child’s proper nurturing and growing up if the parents are splitting apart or growing through some unstable relationship.
And if you are a parent with parental responsibility entitlement, you need to take care of your children’s mental and physical well-being up to the age of 18. Overall, you need to understand what does parental responsibility entitles to as a parent.
