Civil marriage, that is, marriage without official registration in the registry office, is now a fairly common occurrence. Therefore, more and more children are born in such unregistered marriages. Accordingly, the question arises of how to formalize the relationship between such a child and the second parent—the child’s father.
In addition, there are situations when a woman, while married, has a relationship with another man and they have a child. Again the question arises of how to register a child so that the father is the biological father of the child, and not the husband of the child’s mother. After all, upon the birth of a child to a woman who is officially married, as well as within three hundred days from the moment of divorce, recognition of it as invalid, or from the moment of death of the spouse of the child’s mother, the father of the child is recognized as the spouse (former spouse) of the mother, unless otherwise proven. The paternity of the spouse of the child's mother is certified by a record of their marriage (clause 2 of Article 48 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation - hereinafter referred to as the RF IC). The civil registry office will register the child in the name of the spouse (former spouse).
If a child is born in a civil marriage.
The birth of a child in a civil relationship is no different from the birth in a registered marriage. The fact of birth must be registered in the authorized body - the registry office.
A child must have a mother and father. But, if the couple has officially formalized their relationship, then the spouse will be “automatically” recorded as the father of the baby, his name will be indicated on the certificate.
If the parents are not in an official relationship, then how do the registry office employees know who to register as the father?
There are several procedures for registering paternity:
- voluntary;
- compulsory, judicially.
If a man is absolutely sure that the child is his, he does not waive his rights and is ready to recognize him, then he just needs to write a corresponding statement at the registry office. This must be done at the time of registration of the baby.
That is, come with your mother and write a statement. The registrar will check the passport details and enter this man into the birth certificate.
The other method is longer. They resort to it if the parents cannot agree among themselves. As a rule, the mother of the child files to establish paternity in court.
But there are often cases when the man himself wants to raise the baby, but the woman does not allow him.
Illegitimate child: rights, inheritance, alimony.
Rights of a child in an unregistered union according to the Family Code of the Russian Federation
According to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, there is no difference in rights between children born in a legal or civil marriage.
The child also has the right to live with his parents, who must provide for him, give him proper education and create favorable conditions for development and growth. Also has the right to receive medical care and education. If the child’s registration is registered with the father, then he cannot discharge him or evict him, even in the event of separation from the mother.
He can also count on alimony payments and inheritance.
If paternity is not officially registered, then the baby loses not only his father, but also his grandparents, which means he cannot claim their inheritance.
How to establish paternity?
The most effective way is to conduct a genetic examination. The collection of biological material is quite simple.
But, if one of the parents prevents voluntary testing, then it can be obtained in court.
To do this, you must file a claim with the court. The plaintiff can be either the father or the mother, or less often other relatives.
It is possible to prove the paternity of a particular man without DNA testing.
To do this, it is enough to present to the court significant evidence of the cohabitation of a man and a woman during the period when the pregnancy occurred.
The following can be attached to the claim:
- joint photographs of parents;
- audio and video recordings;
- receipts for payment of utility bills, where the alleged father is indicated as the payer;
- receipts for loan payments, etc.;
- other evidence that will support the claims.
If there are witnesses to cohabitation, then they also need to be presented to the court. These could be the parents of the plaintiff and defendant, their friends, neighbors.
The court, first of all, takes into account the rights of the child, and therefore takes into account any evidence of cohabitation between a man and a woman.
Paternity can be proven without an examination. But, if the facts of paternity presented to the court are not enough, you can file a petition to conduct appropriate tests.
Any party to the process has the right to declare it - both the mother of the child and the alleged father.
The following procedures can be used, but they are carried out with the participation of medical geneticists, and therefore are quite expensive.
However, paternity can be determined:
- by similar external features;
- by blood group.
At conception, a child receives genetic material from both parents. Therefore, finding similar external data will not be difficult.
The situation is similar with blood group. But we cannot do without specialists with medical education.
The father of a child has rights in a civil marriage.
Carrying out genetic testing.
The most effective way is to conduct DNA analysis. The error and probability of error are minimal. Therefore, parents insist on carrying it out, and not on determining by blood group. In the latter case, the error is quite large.
The analysis is carried out based on a comparison of the genetic material of the father and child. Suitable for this:
- saliva;
- hair;
- deoxygenated blood;
- sections from the nail.
The duration of the study is about 14 days. The result is a result with 99.9% accuracy. That is why it is called infallible.
But only specialized medical laboratories that have a license to carry out the relevant medical procedures can perform it.
Parents can go voluntarily to get tested, then go to court with a claim to recognize this man as the father of a particular child. The court will make an appropriate decision.
If there is a medical report, the meeting will take place quite quickly. Based on the court decision, changes will be made to the birth certificate, as well as to the archival record in the registry office.
The mother will also have to change the child’s last and patronymic names. It is necessary!
The child will also be included in the father's passport. Now both parents have equal rights in relation to the minor.
If one of the parties to the dispute does not want to voluntarily take part in the study, then you can submit a petition to conduct it.
When the court issues the appropriate judicial act, it will be necessary to provide biological material for research. The court itself will appoint the laboratory to which you will need to contact.
When the results are ready, the court will make a decision. Next, you need to proceed in exactly the same way as taking a test on a voluntary basis.
Since the parents do not live together, one of them will have to pay child support in favor of the child. In addition, the baby is now the heir of the first line.
Establishing paternity by DNA: cost, through court, price.
A man's recognition of a child born out of wedlock as his own.
If a man is absolutely sure that the newborn is his child, he must appear with his mother at the registry office and write a statement recognizing paternity.
The registrar will immediately record this man as the father on the birth certificate.
If the child’s mother died during childbirth, then for registration you must submit a certificate from the maternity hospital, as well as your written acknowledgment of paternity. Then the child will be registered in the father's name. The mother's death certificate must also be presented.
If the father of the child does not recognize or the mother refuses to register a specific man as a parent, then it is necessary to go to court.
Only a court can oblige a man to recognize a child or force a woman to issue a “full” birth certificate. But for this it is necessary to establish paternity.
After the father recognizes the child and his data is entered into the documents, he has the same rights as the mother in relation to the child.
Responsibilities are now also borne in equal shares. Therefore, a man must take part in the child’s life and also provide for him financially. If he does not do this, he may be deprived of parental rights.
Solving the surname issue
If there is no record of the child's father, the mother has the right to indicate her last name or the maiden name of her mother (grandmother). Only after official confirmation of paternity can the state registry office enter the name of the baby’s biological father.
Experts recommend registering illegitimate children right away. After a certain period of time, difficulties will appear that cannot be eliminated. These include the death of a person (parent), the presence of a citizen outside the Russian Federation.
What rights does a common-law father have over a child?
He has the same rights as the mother of the child. It does not matter whether a child was born in a registered marriage or not, parents have equal rights in relation to him.
The main condition is that both are included in the child’s certificate.
The father's rights are as follows:
- give your last name and patronymic;
- participate in education;
- determine the place of study;
- spend vacations, weekends, and leisure time together with your child;
- represent the interests of your child in court, government agencies or other authorities;
- give / not give permission to carry out certain medical procedures;
- request the information he needs from preschool and school educational institutions;
- choose your own paid/free education;
- give / not give consent for the child and mother to travel to other countries;
- open a bank account in the name of a minor;
- exercise other rights in the interests of the child.
When exercising their rights, a parent must not forget that his main responsibility is the material support of his minor child. Therefore, he must pay child support regularly.
Otherwise, he will be limited in his rights or completely deprived of them. But only the court can do this!
But not only the father can ignore his responsibilities. Often mothers also behave in an unworthy manner, do not raise their children properly, and lead an antisocial lifestyle.
The father has every right to obtain full custody of his child. The mother can be deprived of her rights, but forced to pay child support.
All manipulations to determine the child’s place of residence and his future fate are carried out with the participation of the guardianship authorities, the prosecutor and the court.
Adoption Institute
The Family Code enshrines the right of children to be raised in the family. But life circumstances do not always provide the opportunity to realize it. Quite often, a child is left without parental care, both due to their own behavior (alcoholism, drug addiction, immoral behavior and other factors can lead to deprivation of parental rights), and due to certain life circumstances (disability, incapacity, death) .
If the minor is left alone, he is sent to an orphanage. However, due to the workload of such institutions, as well as in order to give the baby the opportunity to find a new family, the legislator approved the institution of adoption.
This form of placement of children means the transfer of a minor to a new family with the emergence of legal relations between him and its members that correspond to the legal relations between the child and his blood parents.
When a baby is born out of wedlock, he is automatically registered with the mother, and the latter is assigned single status. A natural question arises: if a child is born out of wedlock, is it necessary to adopt him?
