my parental rights?

[goonerboy]

i have a child but am not on the birth certificate. the mother wont let me look after the baby on my own. what rights do i have - if any? how easy is it to apply to the courts for a parental responsibility?"

[louadams6]

It depends on if youre married and when the baby was born?

[Emily Ball]

You are obviously not married to the mother otherwise your name would be on the child's birth certificate but you give no details of, for instance, your age, whether you support mother and child financially, whether in fact you are in a position to care for a child even on a part-time basis etc., what kind of a relationship exists between you and the mother etc.etc. Remember that a court will act only in the best interests of a child.

[goonerboy]

i'm 25yrs old, she's 33.. i dont a full time job .. i give some money now & then when i can. the mother brings my daughter over once a week but all i want is time on my own with her. the mother & i were together for almost a year before she fell pregnant, it was unplanned.. she doesnt trust me as i cheated on her. im being 100% honest now..

[laffo]

Are you Steve Mcdonald?

[lucyshandbag]

going on any experience i've ever had with this sort of situation (my brother went through it twice and my ex boyfriend went through it last year), it seems that married or not, parental responsibility or not, the mother can do pretty much what she wants.  you could take it to court to get access so you could be alone with the child, but even if it's granted the mother can just not be home or ignore the door when you call round there.  this is what happened to my brother, he kept taking it to court until he was in so much debt with solicitor fees he had to give up.  it's unfair but that's the british legal system for ya!  i reckon the best thing to do is keep a happy friendly relationship with the mother until she can trust you again. good luck.xx

[kempie]

Sorry to add to the bad news.

Unfortunately under current UK law (The Children Act 1989 as amended by The Adoption and Children Act 2002) only an unmarried father who is named on the birth certificate of a child born since 1st December 2003, or if a birth prior to this date was re-registered after that date, has any immediate right to parental responsibility.

You could apply to court for a Parental Responsibility Order (PRO) which will determine,

- the degree of commitment which the father has shown towards the child.
- the degree of attachment existing between the father and the child.
- the reasons for the father's application.

Unmarried fathers who are forced to apply for a PRO find themselves in a �chicken and egg� situation. To prove their attachment and commitment they need more time with their children. But the courts will not give fathers more time until they have received a PRO.

As lucyshandbag says everything hinges on the goodwill of the mother. I hope things improve for you.

[Ivankafka]

Hope everything sorts itself out, gooner boy. I would go and see the Citizen's Advice Bureau. Surely, if you are the natural father you can have your name put on the birth certificate. Not sure why it wasn't done at the time though. As for this PRO, this bureaucratic rubbish is an infringement of your natural rights as a father. You should not need to apply for this. As long as you have your name recognised on the birth certificate of your child you have rights as the father of that child. Maybe contact Fathers for Justice for more information. Good luck.

[kempie]

Ivankafka - you should never equate The Law with common sense. In the case of unmarried parents the father of a child receives only the parental rights that the mother gives consent to.

Even though everything is supposed to be based on 'the best interest of the child' there is a presumption that Mother=Best and only if the mother is catastrophically bad is this presumption removed.