CSA when a father is not listed on a birth certificate?

Loopy_Girl

My situation was exactly like yours and I got a family law lawyer involved. He wrote to my ex asking him to complete a Declaration of Parentage form which he refused to do so my lawyer, on my behalf, applied to the courts. As the evidence is there in black and white then the court granted the DoP. When I received this I was able to go back and re-register her birth with his name on it.

That was Scottish law and also 6 years ago so my advice would be to consult a lawyer. You may be entitled to Legal Aid and anyway, first interviews are free.

Just a word of caution however - the new birth certificate will be dated 2008 so the father will automatically have Parental Rights. Be aware that this means he is allowed to have a say in medical matters, education and whether you can take your son out the country amongst other things. God forbid if anything happened to you then he would have the right to fight for care of your son. Whether he did or not I understand what you are saying but just be aware that the rights would be there.

Hope this helps

p.s and I totally understand the access things...it's alright for the NRP's to whine about wanting access but what about when us, the PWC's, are bringing up a child that is desperate to see their father and they want nothing to do with the child...what about Mothers For Justice eh?!!!!!!

Bossyboots

Just to clarify, the change in the law for fathers on birth certificates was for a child born on or after 1st December 2003. Prior to this date, being on the birth certificate did not grant automatic parental responsibility so not all 2003 babies fall under the new rules.

While it might seem incredulous that a new mother would take someone else along to impersonate a father to get a name on the birth certificate, I do know someone this happened to. It was only uncovered when the CSA got involved. I think it is probably a very rare occurrence though and I would hope that the procedures for identification are now tighter than they were.

Helen819

Thankyou LOOPY GIRL for the comments,i might just go and have a chat with a solicitor about this.

jennii51

Loopy_Girl wrote: »

My situation was exactly like yours and I got a family law lawyer involved. He wrote to my ex asking him to complete a Declaration of Parentage form which he refused to do so my lawyer, on my behalf, applied to the courts. As the evidence is there in black and white then the court granted the DoP. When I received this I was able to go back and re-register her birth with his name on it.

That was Scottish law and also 6 years ago so my advice would be to consult a lawyer. You may be entitled to Legal Aid and anyway, first interviews are free.

Just a word of caution however - the new birth certificate will be dated 2008 so the father will automatically have Parental Rights. Be aware that this means he is allowed to have a say in medical matters, education and whether you can take your son out the country amongst other things. God forbid if anything happened to you then he would have the right to fight for care of your son. Whether he did or not I understand what you are saying but just be aware that the rights would be there.

Hope this helps

p.s and I totally understand the access things...it's alright for the NRP's to whine about wanting access but what about when us, the PWC's, are bringing up a child that is desperate to see their father and they want nothing to do with the child...what about Mothers For Justice eh?!!!!!!

Hi i am in a situation similar my wee boy is 4 this year and his fathers name is not on the BC. he doesnt see him in fact dont think he even knows what he looks like. the csa is involved and child maintenance is getting paid, but i want his name on the BC. can i get a lawyer to send him a letter to sign regarding this matter and if he refuses what else can i do?

Loopy_Girl

jennii51 wrote: »

Hi i am in a situation similar my wee boy is 4 this year and his fathers name is not on the BC. he doesnt see him in fact dont think he even knows what he looks like. the csa is involved and child maintenance is getting paid, but i want his name on the BC. can i get a lawyer to send him a letter to sign regarding this matter and if he refuses what else can i do?

I take it you cannot just ask him nicely can you?

If not then you will need a DNA to prove paternity (which I had to get done as my ex demanded one despite him knowing small person was his - all stalling tactics you see). I then went to a lawyer who sent him a Declaration of Parentage to complete. It is a form basically admitting you are the childs father and it has to be witnessed by someone in authority (but that is his job to do, not yours). If he refuses to do it (as in my case) then my lawyer applied to the court for the Declaration of Parentage. It got granted as basically it is there in black and white on the DNA form that he is the Dad. The court then sent me a letter which I was able to take back and re-register her birth with his name on it.

I would say speak to ex, and if no joy then look in the yellow pages for a family law lawyer and also see if you are entitled to Legal Aid for it.

Hope that helps but gimme a shout if you need any more info

jennii51

Loopy_Girl wrote: »

I take it you cannot just ask him nicely can you?

If not then you will need a DNA to prove paternity (which I had to get done as my ex demanded one despite him knowing small person was his - all stalling tactics you see). I then went to a lawyer who sent him a Declaration of Parentage to complete. It is a form basically admitting you are the childs father and it has to be witnessed by someone in authority (but that is his job to do, not yours). If he refuses to do it (as in my case) then my lawyer applied to the court for the Declaration of Parentage. It got granted as basically it is there in black and white on the DNA form that he is the Dad. The court then sent me a letter which I was able to take back and re-register her birth with his name on it.

I would say speak to ex, and if no joy then look in the yellow pages for a family law lawyer and also see if you are entitled to Legal Aid for it.

Hope that helps but gimme a shout if you need any more info

Yes there is no joy what so ever he thinks if he refuses to go down registrar with me his name wont be on it. ive had a DNA test done back in 2005 with the CSA because he disputed parentage and obviously it came back as his son. just recently got child maintenance sorted and he thinks cause hes paying that hes done his job. well that is perfect thank you for ur help i will get a family lawyer and see what happens from here. Many thanks

Loopy_Girl

Just a word of caution though Jen

You get him on the birth certificate and as your son was born in 2004 then he will automatically get Parental Rights and Responsibilites which means he has a say in his schools and healthcare and things like that. He could also stop you taking him out the country, even for a holiday, if he really wanted to.

I don't have that as my daughter was born in 2001 and the law for unmarried parents wasn't in force then or to be honest I wouldn't have done it.

Something to think about

SuziQ

Nicifer_noonoo wrote: »

I'm currently pregnant and have seen a solicitor about this very issue - whether to put my ex's name on the birth certificate.

She advised me that if I did put his name on the birth certificate, he would automatically have parental rights, whereas if I didn't, then he wouldn't. He would, however, be able to apply for parental rights, and they would be granted if he did so, but he's very unlikely to. She did warn me that if his name was on the birth certificate, he would have a say in which school my son attended, his name, whether he was allowed abroad with me etc:eek:. quote]

This may be the law,but in reality the nrp has no real chance of influencing schools etc. My husband tried to persuade his ex to allow their oldest son to go to the grammar school they had chosen e,also the child's preference. His step-dad had a bit of an inferiority complex and didn't want him to be 'better educated than me' so they persuaded the child to go elsewhere. In the end his ex wife's snobbery made her change her mind (she found out her sisters eldest was going to grammar and wouldn't be outdone!) but this was after the court told my husband that they wouldn't force the mother to send the child to the grammar as it could cause difficulties with the child's relationship with his step-father.
He was also told in court that the mother had residency,so providing she didn't take the children out of the country for more than a month at a time,she never has to contact him,and he has had no input re passport either.
I personally think it is better in most cases if the 2 parents can be involved with decisions like schools. Even though my ex has never contributed to the children's upkeep,I have still involved him in decisions re immunisation,schools,whether they stay with friends etc-I can't see why you wouldn't want that involvement as it's his child too.

Loopy_Girl

No I realise it may not be workable but it should certainly be considered. Bit of a !!!!er to book a holiday and then a bitter ex (as if eh?!!) puts a spanner in the works.

Loopy_Girl

SuziQ wrote: »

I can't see why you wouldn't want that involvement as it's his child too.

Well count yourself lucky that your ex does want involvement Suzy....some PWC aren't as lucky as you. If the OP's ex has never taken an interest, then gets Parental Rights and Resp, what right has he to start throwing his weight about for anything?

My ex made it crystal clear he wanted nothing to do with my baby so if putting his name on the cert would have gave him r&r then no, I would not have done it. Things aren't always black and white unfortunately. Yes it's his child too - someone should perhaps bloody tell him that eh?