Step-parents

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Acquisition of parental responsibility by step-parents

Under the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989), where a child's parent who has parental responsibility is married to, or is the civil partner of, a person who is not the child's parent:

  1. •

    both parents with parental responsibility may enter into a parental responsibility agreement with the step-parent

  2. •

    on the application of the step-parent the court may order that the step-parent have parental responsibility

Additionally, step-parents may also acquire parental responsibility by:

  1. •

    obtaining a child arrangements order (CAO) in which they are named as a person with whom the child is to live—they have parental responsibility while the order remains in force so far as providing for the child to live with that person

  2. •

    obtaining a CAO in which they are named as a person with whom the child is to spend time or otherwise have contact but they are not named as the person with whom the child is to live—in those circumstances the court may provide in the order for the person to have parental responsibility for the child while the provisions in the order continue to

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