Will ‘Jade’s Law’ be the beginning of a huge shift in Parental Responsibility?

The tragic story of Jade Ward, a mother killed by her ex-partner, Mr Russell Marsh and then the subsequent battle her parents have had to protect Jade’s children, their grandchildren, from having their killer father make decisions about their welfare from prison could result in a big change in the
law.

Parental responsibility is automatically given to a natural birth mother and can then be given to the 2nd parent (be that father or a second mother depending on the family dynamic) either automatically through being married to the birth mother, or by being named on the birth certificate. The Family Court also has the power, on an application by any concerned party, to grant parental responsibility or take it away in circumstances where it is in the best interests of the child to strip the adult of that responsibility.

Many parents, in the heightened emotions of a breakup or divorce have asked me if their ex-partner’s behaviour is bad enough that the Court will take away their parental responsibility; my advice has always been that it is a very high burden to prove that a child will be better off by an adult not sharing parental responsibility for them. I have often cited examples to my clients from case law of parents convicted of sexual offences against children and other heinous crimes being permitted to retain their parental responsibility in some capacity (even if sometimes the Court decides to limit or restrict it).

The petition for ‘Jade’s Law’ will now be incorporated into the Victims and Prisoners Bill according to the Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk, and it is understood the intention will be that the Criminal Court, presumably as part of the sentencing process will automatically remove parental responsibility from those convicted of killing unlawfully and without any appropriate mitigation (such as being a long term victim of domestic abuse), the other parent to a child they had parental responsibility for. This legal stripping of parental responsibility was always possible through a formal application to the Family Court, where it was then considered on its merits, but at significant legal cost and after some delay. It is the automatic nature of this change of Parental Responsibility that might be a significant change in this area of law. I for one will be watching how this develops closely over the coming months.

If you have questions about parental responsibility or issues with child arrangements that you would like to discuss in a free initial meeting with Chris Sutton, our Head of Family Law at Fenton Elliott Solicitors, then please contact us on 01635 896336.