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hi, my daughter was born less than a week ago. I wasnt allowed at the birth, since being born i have seen my daughter for just half an hour. Ive tried to arrange times to visit and not been allowed. Every excuse under the sun for me not being able to go up. Ive subsequently found out that i have not been registered as the father on the birth certificate, although i am the father. I had arranged to support my child financialy prior to the birth and things were amicable between me and my ex at that stage. we had agreed that id be allowed to visit.
However since the birth she has changed towards me totally and is making it impossible for me to visit. First she said she was uncomfortable around me, so i arranged for my mother to attend visits with me in the evenings (due to my mothers work) the ex has said she cant do any evenings, even tho she doesnt work and is at home every night. I then arranged with my brothers wife to attend with me in the day time but now she said she wants someone to be there with her as well as me having someone. Basically shes making it impossible for me to see her. I no technically i dont have any rights to see my daughter at this stage as im not on the birth certificate.
How do i go about legally getting a paternity test done, so as to get parental responisbilities and the legal right to visitation? i have two children from a previous relationship that ive fully supported financially.
Her grounds of not letting me see my daughter are that she doesnt feel comfortable around me as i can come across aggresive in my tone. I have no criminal record or previous for aggression or violence and have never laid a finger on her.
I work shifts with my job so it would be very hard to establish set days for me to visit my child. And the fact i support two other children would mean the courts take my job into consideration when arranging when im entitled to visit wouldnt they?
Hi Rob,
I've asked the child legal team to drop by and see if they can advise on you situation.
They are able to help as long as you don't already have a solicitor and you live in England.
They may take a day or two so keep checking back
Darren
Hi rob,
One thing to bear in mind that as your child is so young at the moment. You will have contact on a "little and often" basis, what this is is a defined set of times by the Court. This will work for times of 30mins-1hr, often including things like bath times 3 times a week. 4 if you are lucky. Given the childs age. No Court will actually make an order that contact will happen at your own property on a 1:1 basis.
If the mother is breastfeeding this may delay any 1:1 time for your and your daughter for between 6months and 1 year. This is assuming that you can work amicably.
It sounds to me from the legal standpoint that you will need to have parental responsibility. For this you need for the Court to make an Order if the mother is refusing. I and i'm sure others can give more advice on this. However what grounds is your ex refusing your paternity? I would say you do need to prepare yourself to be able to say at some point that if she is not in agreement to your having Parental Responsibility and your name added to the birth certificate then you are prepared to take this to court.
At this stage it is important to remember that the childs age will be the major issue in relation to contact.
Dear Rob123,
You are correct in saying that you currently you have no rights or responsibilities over your daughter as you are not on the birth certificate and we presume you are not married to the mother. In order to obtain rights and responsibilities over your daughter there are two options for you:
1.If the mother will not agree to sign a Parental Responsibility agreement (C(PRA1) form) then you can apply to the court for a Parental Responsibility Order on a C1 form. This form can be obtained from www.justice.go.uk or from your local family proceedings court (generally your local magistrates court). There is a fee for this however you will need to speak to your court regarding the precise amount. Please be aware that this does not mean that your name will go on the birth certificate.
2.You can apply to the court for a Declaration of Parentage (C63 form) and if it is proven that you are the biological father then you are able to apply for a Specific Issue Order (C100) asking for the birth of your child to be re-registered so that your name is added to the birth certificate and upon re-registration you will obtain Parental Responsibility.
With regards to contact, if you cannot come to some agreement with the mother then the first thing you should consider doing is asking the mother to consider attending National Family Mediation. This is where you try to come to some agreement with a third party present to aid you in negotiation so that you both can discuss the issue. The telephone number for National Family Mediation is 0300 4000 636. If the mother does not comply with this or you cannot resolve anything through mediation then your next option is to apply to the court for a Contact Order. This is done on a C100 form which again can be obtained from www.justice.gov.uk
Please note that there are fees for all the forms mentioned but you should check with your local court what the up to date fees are. The forms will need to be submitted at the court that is closet to the child.
If the matter is to go to court the court takes into account all the circumstances and something called the welfare checklist. The checklist is:
1.The ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned (considered in light of his age and understanding)
2.His physical, emotional and/or education needs
3.The likely effect on him of any change in his circumstances
4.His age, [censored], background and any characteristics of his, which the court considers relevant,
5.Any harm which he has suffered or is at risk of suffering
6.How capable each of his parents and any other person in relation to whom the court considers the question to be relevant, is of meeting his needs
If you do require further legal advice please do not hesitate to contact us via the webchat facility again or via our freephone number 0808 802 0008.
Thank you CCLC
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