What Shared Parental Responsibility Means For Divorced Parents And Their Children
There is a core principle within Australian family law which basically means that whenever a couple gets divorced or they separate, the parental responsibility for any children they may have is shared equally. A family lawyer will explain to you that even if the child’s two parents are not on speaking terms, and one regards the other as an unfit parent, the Family Court will order joint parental responsibility in almost all cases.
We say almost all cases because although shared parental responsibility is usually the default position, there are some circumstances in which instead of shared, sole parental responsibility will be ordered, although it may only be temporarily. The reasons for this are very narrow and only apply in cases where one of the parents is deemed unfit to have the responsibility.