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a long story cut short, i met a girl we had a whirlwind relationship got engaged and then she fell pregnant, we disagreed on having a baby as both only 19yrs old, relationship broke down and ended in her accusing me of sexual assault of which there was no charges bought. she refused any form of contact and when the baby was born did not put me on the birth certificate. i cant get the baby out of my head and need to know for sure if shes mine. what can i do? she wont speak to anyone i know so i know she wont agree to anything i ask, im going to consult a solicitor but wondered if anyone has experiance success with something like this
Hi there
I've copied and pasted this from advice given to a previous member, by the Coram Children's Legal Centre.... it should tell you everything you need to know.
Solicitors are very expensive, you can do this without a legal representitive, it's doable and we would advise and support you if you decided to go it alone.
In order to establish paternity of the child you would need to take a DNA test. There are two routes to doing this:
1) If the mother was to consent you could visit your GP and request a DNA test to be completed
2) If the mother was not to consent you would need to apply to the Courts for a Declaration of
Parentage. - This would be asking the courts to order a DNA test be undertaken. To apply for a Declaration of Parentage you would need to complete a form C63 which can be obtained from www.justice.gov.uk. There is a fee for this application which you will need to check with the Courts.
If it is established that you are the father of the child then you can address the following:
Parental Responsibility - Parental Responsibility is defined in s.3(1) Children Act 1989 as being: "all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property".
Practically Parental Responsibility means that both parties should consult and consent on issues such as schooling, medical issues, change of name, removal from the jurisdiction and other major issues concerning the child.
If you are the biological father of the child we would strongly recommend that you obtain Parental Responsibility for your child. You can obtain this through the following routes:
1) If you have gone through the Courts for a Declaration of Parentage you can request the court order your name be added to the birth certificate
2) If the mother agrees you can both re-register the birth certificate or, complete a form for a Parental Responsibility Agreement from www.justice.gov.uk entitled PRA1
3) If the mother does not agree you can apply for a Parental Responsibility Order on a form called a C1 from www.justice.gov.uk.
Before making an application to the Court you will need to undertake mediation with the mother. This is a process involving you, the mother and a trained professional third party mediator coming together to try and resolve the issue without the need to go to court. Under new legislation mediation is mandatory and you will need to attempt this before going to court. For more information on mediation, here's a link to their website
www.nfm.org.uk
Contact - In order to establish contact, the first steps we would advise that you take would be mediation as detailed above. However if mediation does not prove successful then you can apply to the Courts for a Child Arrangements Order. This is a legally binding order that would set out the arrangements in relation to the child in terms of contact including the frequency and the type of contact.
To apply for this Order you would need to complete a form entitled a C100. There are also guidance leaflets entitled CB1 and CB3. These can all be downloaded from www.justice.gov.uk. There is a fee for this application of approximately £215.
In deciding whether or not to grant such an order the court will base their decision on what they feel is in the best interests of your son’s welfare, in order to do this they will go through the welfare checklist:
• Childs physical, emotional and educational needs.
• Effect of any change on the child.
• The age, [censored] and background of the child.
• Any harm which the child has suffered or may suffer.
• How capable each parent is of meeting the Childs needs.
Once you have determined that the child is yours, you can apply for Parental Responsibility and. A Child Arrangements Order for contact, if that is what you wish.
All the best
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