Equal rights for unmarried dads

Friday 02 December 2016

It's taken 13 years but Jersey is finally catching up with the UK and giving equal rights to unmarried dads.

As of today, dads who are named on their child’s birth certificate will automatically have parental responsibility to make 'big' decisions about their child.

Parental responsibility is a legal term that encompasses all the rights, duties, powers and responsibilities that go with being a parent and in practical terms means that all the ‘big’ decisions about a child can only be made in consultation with the other parent.

Advocate Rose Colley said: “This is real progress for unmarried fathers in Jersey. The same law was introduced into the UK in December 2003 and it has taken Jersey 13 years to catch up. The law change is important in terms of recognising that both parents have equal rights and responsibilities in relation to their child.”

The law change will not apply to any children born before the 2 December 2016, even where the unmarried father is named on the birth certificate.

Advocate Colley said: “Those fathers will still need to get the mother to sign a PR agreement or get an order from the court.”