Father’s Rights Solicitors

Here at Sugare & Co Solicitors in Leeds, we have expert father’s rights solicitors that have been helping father’s for many years to see their children. We have close links with father’s rights support organisations, such as Families Need Fathers (opens new window). 

The head of our Family Law department, Daniel Sugare, is renowned for his fight for fathers and he regularly attends the local Families Need Fathers meetings in Leeds to provide support and advice to father’s going through custody disputes.

We’re sure we can assist with your child custody battle and get you the result your child deserves.

Parental Responsibility (PR) means all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority that a parent of a child has in relation to the child.

Parental Responsibility is important because if two or more people have parental responsibility for a child then they should consult with each regarding the child’s:

• Education
• Health
• Welfare
• Change of Name- click here for more information for information about changing a child’s name

A father will have Parental Responsibility for a child if:

• A child’s parents are married when he is born; or
• The father’s name is on the child’s birth certificate

If a father was not married or not on the child’s birth certificate, the father can obtain PR if he:

a) Enters into a Parental Responsibility agreement with the mother.
b) Obtains a court order giving him PR.
c) Is named in a child arrangements order (CAO) as a person with whom the child is to live.

At Sugare & Co we have experienced fathers’ rights lawyers that will quickly ascertain whether you have (or can acquire) parental responsibility over your child and how this can be obtained.

Whilst each case is different, the general procedure is as follows:

To begin with, we often write a letter to the child’s mother / her legal representative, where possible. We will try to seek an early resolution and persuade the mother to agree to a defined contact between you and the child. We will also refer the case to mediation (a pre requisite to Court to Court in most circumstances) to see whether you can agree matters yourselves. This route will hopefully keep costs low.

If the mother opposes contact, we will swiftly instigate court proceedings on your behalf and apply for a Child Arrangements Order. It usually takes about 6 weeks for a Court hearing to take place.

At Court, our skilful solicitors will make representations that it is in the interests of your child to have regular contact with you. Our father’s rights solicitors have been doing these case for many years and know what the Judge does and doesn’t want to hear. It is therefore vital that you use the services of a solicitor to give you the best possible chance of success.

For further information as to the Court process and how the judge decides the case, please click here.

Legal Aid is available in certain circumstances. If you don’t qualify for legal aid, we offer competitive fixed fee packages to represent you in Court and advising you at the office.

We are flexible as to how you wish to instruct us to ensure that your costs are kept down. For example, you may wish to prepare all the paperwork yourself and we would only attend Court to fight your case.

We offer a free consultation so that you can work out what is best for your circumstances.