| 
  • This workspace has been inactive for over 11 months, and is scheduled to be reclaimed. Make an edit or click here to mark it as active.
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

Paternity

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 9 months ago

Paternity: it may be rather obvious that paternity means the fact of being a father to the child. However, there are a number of situations in which this may not be so obvious (such as when a child is born as a result of artificial insemination) or in which there is a dispute about who the father actually is.

 

The law says that the birth of a child must be registered within 42 days. If the parents are married to each other then either of them can go and register the birth and put both names on the certificate. There is a legal presumption that a child born to married parents is the child of both of them. If the parents are not married and the father is willing to be registered both parents need to attend in person to register the birth or the father can make a statutory declaration to say that he is the father. The father’s name can also be added to the birth certificate by re-registration at a later date and if the parents marry the birth can also be re-registered to show that the child is a child of the marriage. Details about how to register or re-register a birth can be found on the General Register Office website at http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/births/registeringabirth/

 

If the father is not willing to go onto the birth certificate the mother can apply to the court for a declaration of parentage and if the court makes the declaration that he is in fact the mother, a copy of the court order is sent to the General Register Office and the birth can be re-registered (the Registrar General has a discretion under the Births and Deaths Act 1953 section 14A to authorize the issue of an amended birth certificate). A declaration of parentage may be made under section 56 of the Family Law Act 1986. If paternity is denied by the ‘father’ the court would usually expect evidence by way of DNA tests. However, not only does the ‘father’ have to consent to the giving of any human tissue (it is a criminal offence to take a sample without consent) but the mother also has to consent to the taking of a blood sample from a child and the court cannot make the mother do it.. However, if either the father or mother refused to cooperate with DNA testing ordered by the court, the court would be likely to draw a conclusion against the person who was not cooperating.

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.