Parental Authority: Rights and Responsabilities of Parents
Parental authority refers to parents’ rights and responsibilities toward their children from the minute they are born until they turn 18. Under their parental authority, parents make decisions that affect their children’s well-being.
What is parental authority, and what happens if the parents break up?
Parental Authority: Rights and Responsibilities
Under parental authority, parents have these rights and responsibilities toward their children:
- custody
- supervision
- physical and psychological protection
- health and safety
- education
- providing food
- caring for them
Parental authority gives parents the right to make all decisions necessary to their children’s well-being. For example, parents can make these decisions:
- where the children will live
- agree to or refuse health care (there are limits to this right for children 14 or older)
- pass on their religious beliefs
Parents can also temporarily give to someone else certain parts of their parental authority, such as custody, supervision or education. For example, this happens when a babysitter looks after the children.
Who makes decisions about the children after the parents break up?
While they are living together, parents use their parental authority together, whether or not they are married.
If the parents don’t live together anymore and only one of them has custody of the children, the other parent still keeps parental authority.
- The parent who does not have custody only loses the right to custody. The parent who has custody decides where the children will live.
- The parent who does not have custody still has all the other rights and responsibilities of parental authority (e.g., education, providing food, decisions about health care).
Being with the children means the parent who has custody exercises parental authority every day, while the other parent does this from a distance. Butthe parent who does not have custody must be consulted on all major decisions concerning the children.
What is a major decision? Here are a few examples:
- choice of school
- health care necessary for a child’s state of health
- some medical treatments, such as braces
- long-term activities and hobbies
Also, as a general rule, the parent who does not have custody of the children has these rights:
- see report cards
- go to parent-teacher meetings
- receive information about the children’s medical care
When Parents Don’t Agree on Decisions About the Children
If parents don’t agree on a major decision concerning the children, then one parent can go to court to have a judge decide, no matter who has custody.
Here a few situations where a parent can ask for a judge’s opinion:
- The parents don’t agree on a decision they have to take regarding the children.
- One parent is making all the decisions about the children without consulting the other parent.
- One parent refuses to give the other parent important information about the children.
The judge will make a decision based on the children’s best interests.
New Partners of Parents and Decisions Concerning Children
New partners of a parent, such as boyfriends or girlfriends, do not have parental authority, even if they are acting like a parent.
Losing Parental Authority
In rare cases, a parent can lose all or part of parental authority and the right to make decisions concerning the children.
Only a judge can take away parental authority.