What does parental responsibility cover?
It should be made clear in advance that there are a number of misconceptions about this issue.
Joint parental responsibility does not mean that parents automatically have joint custody of the child.
Parental custody is not the same as having custody of the child, nor does it mean that no maintenance is payable.
Ok, but what does it contain?
Parental custody includes the right and duty to care for, bring up, manage and legally represent a minor child, and the right to name and exclude a minor from guardianship.
Who is a minor?
A minor is someone who has not reached the age of eighteen. A minor becomes an adult on marriage.
But what do you need to know about parental custody arrangements?
Whether it is the end of a spousal or common-law relationship, if you have children together, sooner or later you will have to decide on the following:
- how parental supervision is exercised,
- on communication and
- on child support.
On these issues, parents can either agree between themselves or go to court.
In court proceedings, proving who is better suited to raise a child, by establishing their psychological, housing and income circumstances, or by establishing exactly what expenses and justified needs they have in raising a child, makes the procedure long, complicated and costly.
Not to mention that the judicial process is far from solving all problems. It can set out the main framework (where the child should live, which days should visitation take place, how much maintenance should be paid), but in everyday life parents will still have to cooperate on a regular basis (if the child falls ill on the day of visitation or if something happens to the parent).
Parents should make themselves aware of this from the beginning, before they let the relationship between them deteriorate further, that they will not be able to completely exclude the other person from their lives because of the child.
This is the case even if only one parent is fully entitled to exercise parental rights. It does not mean that the other, separated parent will lose all rights. In such a case, the other parent will also have the right to participate in decision-making on important issues affecting the child’s fate.
What are the relevant issues?
For example, determining or changing a child’s name, designating a place of residence abroad for a longer period or for the purpose of settling, changing nationality, choosing a school or a career.
In the next section, we will discuss what and how to agree on for a peaceful and quick separation, and why it is worth seeking the help of an expert lawyer even in the case of an undisputed settlement.
In the next section we will write about this agreement.
