Name on a birth certificate

[brenda]

Please can anyone help.

My friend's daughter age 21.not married has been in a relationship for 18 months , she is now 5 months pregnant.
The relationship has broken down due to violence and she has returned home to live with her Mother
She wants to keep the child and is concerned about having to name the father on the birth certificate. She wants nothing whatsoever to do with him,and does not want to name him.Can she do this?

He has been threatening her and indicating that he will abduct the child and possible kill her as well.My friend is terrified for her daughter, and I find it all
very scary.Any advice for my friend would be greatly appreciated.
I feel out of my depth on this but would like to help if I could.

[jackthehat]

As they are not married, he would have to accompany her to the Registry Office to have his name put on the certificate.

She can register the baby without any input from him...

[10ClarionSt]

I'm no expert, but I think if the father is named on the birth certificate, he has legal right of access. You need to check with the CAB or similar. The law these days is slanted in favour of the father, as the govt., i.e. David Cameron, thinks every child should have a father. If he is not named and wants access, he may have to provide a DNA sample to prove paternity. If you don't want him to have access, you will have to provide good reasons with proof of your reasons. If you cannot prove that he made those threats, it will only be classed as hearsay.

[ojread2]

I hope she has reported all this to the police?
She doesn't have to name him on the birth cert but I would rethink long and hard
The only person this will hurt is the child, a complete innocent in this and the child will certainly want to know at some point who it's father is

[ojread2]

Name of the birth certificate does NOT mean he will have a right to access

[FredPuli43]

Yes, she can (and should definitely do that. And it's better if he doesn't know of it).

How seriously does she take the threats ?

[katdarn79]

Loads of info on this link.
http://www.adviceguid...irth_certificates.htm

[cathfromsaron]

carbon copy of my daughter's situation!

she does not need him to sign the birth certificate and the spot for father can remain empty!

he will duly have to apply to the court for contact, a section 7 report will be completed and then the court will give him supervised contact anyway ...

if she is on benefits the way round this is to never give his name (when they ask repeatedly) and never to admit he is the father!

also she should keep note of all police contact and ask advice from womens aid!

[cathfromsaron]

no, being named on the birth cert gives 'parental responsibility', handy for unm,arried partners who live together, in the case of urgent medical attention needed for the child NOT contact in the case of violence and threats!

[10ClarionSt]

Name on the certificate or not, if he claims to be the father and wants access, he will have to go through conciliation. There will have to be valid reasons why he can't have access, so keep a record of anything that happens, times, dates etc. You will definitely need it as the family court will be sympathetic to him. Trust me. I know. Been there a lot in the last 12 months.

[brenda]

Thank you all so much so far for your help . am away to get my friend and her daughter to read all.My head is spinning with all this 'cos I haven't got a clue, but am good at opening a bottle of wine.!Sincerest thanks.

[ojread2]

If she refuses to name him to any benefits office she *may* get her benefits reduced, however, if she can prove he made these threats/has been violent then that should be a way around it

[boxtops]

I sympathise, but if in future she needs to ask him or the CSA for benefits, would she not have difficulty if he's not named as the father?

[ojread2]

It'll be tough luck for her if she wants money for the child via the CSA if she refuses to name him
Being on the birth cert however, isn't compulsory to claim via the CSA but the father is likely, and should, ask for a DNA test

[DaisyNonna]

What would happen if the young woman cited another name? E.g. Joe Bloggs? This is a real query.

[FredPuli43]

A bloke called Joe Bloggs could say he was the father and try to get parental rights, nonna ! Or, seriously, 'nothing' is my guess. Though it is an offence to make certain false statements to the registrar and on the forms for births deaths and marriages, it has to be something material.Since the giving of the father's name is not required, it could be argued that nothing was criminal in giving a made up or wrong one!

[lyall]

I don’t want to frighten you more than you already are, but it could get a lot scarier unless they do something, fast!! I’m going to deviate slightly from your question about the father’s name on the certificate, because, reading your post, I believe the situation is urgent.

The most important piece of advice is GET THE POLICE INVOLVED ASAP. Because there has been violence and threats it is essential that the police are told. A restraining order can be applied for (but not necessarily granted) if the police think that the threat is great enough then a panic alarm could be fitted in your home in case he tries anything there. My advice is if they feel the threat that seriously she should NOT leave her daughter alone, ever, until it is sorted, that way she always has a witness, and protection. If this is impractical tell her to carry a personal alarm and digital recorder with her everywhere and if he comes near her, use them! If she has to go anywhere on her own it is vital she tells the people/place she is leaving where her destination is, it is also vital at the same time to inform her destination where she is coming from and her estimated time of arrival, even for something like going to and from work, that way if anything happens the police can be informed immediately and something drastic could be avoided.

If you can afford it speak to a reputable family law solicitor and get professional advice. If not the Citizens Advice Bureau is your best bet, if they can’t handle it they’ll pass you on to someone who can. Legally get witness statements (before he can intimidate any of them) to any previous abuse; if anything goes to court it could come in useful.

Regarding access, if she once mentions he is the father she’s done for in my opinion, please note that this is MY opinion only. Social services and courts think the sun shines out of the father’s backside even if he is violent or showing threatening behaviour to either child or mother. To make you understand how serious that this situation could be, the worst case scenario, so to speak, my family tragedy ended in 2 children being murdered by their father, he had threatened to kill their mother and them, but social services and the courts said he had a right to see his children un-supervised. During his first access visit, he took their lives. THIS IS RARE but it does happen. I am sorry to frighten you, but as a family, we didn’t believe this could happen either, but it did.

She is legally within her rights not to name the father, though if they are unmarried and he wants to be named as the father on the birth certificate then he has to attend with the mother at registration, so unless some sly ‘friend’ tells him when and where your friends daughter is registering the birth or he rings the registration office and enquires when the appointment is, she should be able to do it alone and leave his name off the certificate. As I understand it he has the right, if he wants to, to apply for DNA testing, it’s not cheap, and as the applicant I believe he has to pay. Not sure what happens after the tests in this type of situation.

I hope that this situation turns out to be not as serious as your post sounds and my advice is not needed, but if this helps one person to keep themselves safe it was worth the typing. I wish your friend and her daughter much happiness with their new addition to the family when he/she arrives.

[bunkmoreland]

if she registers the birth on her own,she does not have to name the father. against all popular knowledge,the father is not shown as "unknown" but a simple line like this is shown _________ . she would only have to name him if they were married. but,also,if violence is being threatened,please call the police.