Guardianship and the Child and Family Relationships Act 2015

One of the changes, which took effect from 18 January 2016, is that an unmarried father automatically becomes the guardian of his child if he has lived with the child’s mother for 12 consecutive months, including at least 3 months with the mother and child following the child’s birth. If there is disagreement about whether the parents have been cohabiting for the required time, including the 3 months following the child’s birth, then an application can be made to the court to make a declaration about this.