Take parental responsibilty away??

Hi guys,

Me and my ex husband have had a very full few years, 9 months after i married him and when our child was 4 months I uncovered an affair where the other woman was pregnant. I left him and filed for divorced the day after our one year anniversary. He saw his child for a few weeks for 30 mins at a time when he felt like it (his choice) until one day he told me he was dying of cancer to try and win be back, constantly emailing and texting and never asking about our child. Nearly 3 months after this his girlfriend rang me (who he had the affair with and who was 5 months pregnant at this point) saying he was lying and they would no longer be together. He signed out divorce papers 5 months later stating he would get a contact order to see our child as I was stopping him (this wasnt the case I had asked him to see her but he wasnt interested). We got our divorce in April and they had their child and have got married a few weeks after our divorce! Yes I know her funeral right? Well anyway me and my partner have been together over a year and are planning a future together. He hasnt seen his child for over 16 months now. Hes also been convicted of beating his new wife and isnt allowed to see his year old son by another woman.

How do I go about taking his responsibilities away as he his obviously not interested in her? Does my partner automaticly become her guardian once this happens? Any help appreciated....

Sorry, just to clarify, it is your ex husband who has been convicted of beating his new wife and isnt allowed to see his son? It gets a bit hazy and no real distinction between ex partner and new partner towards the end!

As far as i am aware, and i''m sure someone will correct me if i''m wrong, but the only way parental responsibility can be ''taken away'' other than under child protection issues is if your ex partner agree''s to relinquish this responsibility. One of the ways he can do this is by agreeing for your new partner to adopt your child although a little over a year may be early days yet!

Does your ex pay maintenance? This is also something to consider as if he gave up his rights he has no obligation to contribute financially.

Bottom line is you cannot ''take away'' his PR, he has to agree.

You can''t get your ex''s PR removed. PR can be removed but only by court order, and only in exceptional circumstances (for example, if your ex had been convicted of a very serious and high profile crime involving children, or if there was a long history showing that he was abusing his PR in order to stalk you, and you had exhausted all other options.)

Your new husband could gain PR via a ''Step-Parent Parental Responsibility Agreement'' once you are married, and IF your child''s father agrees.

You should make a will following your marraige. Your new hushand does not automatically become your child''s guardian but you can appoint him to be your child''s truteee (giving him responsibility over any fincial assets left to your child) You can appoint him as a Guardian, although this appointment will not take effect as long yas your ex is alove. You can also write a letter of intent to keep with your will, setting out what you would want in terms of where you feel your son should live, and who should care for him, and why, in the event of your death. That letter can be updated regularly and in the event that something happened to you, and your ex tried to remove your child from you husband''s care, the letter would be something which your husband could show to the court, and which a court could consider in deciding what was best for your son.

The fact that your ex has been convited of assaulting his current wife, and/or that he is not allowed contact to another child are potentially relevent in the event that he seks to reestablish contact with his child with you, but would not be reasons for removing his PR.

I believe that an adoption can occur without your ex''s consent if the court believes that it would be in the child''s best interests.

I think it can also happen if your ex could not be traced.

www.direct.gov.uk

You would need to get legal advice if you wanted your new partner to adopt your child without your ex''s consent.

My understanding is it is only possible to do this if you and your new partner are married or in a civil partnership.

My ex doesnt pay a penny, never has! Yes he beat his new wife and social services stopped him seeing his eldest son.