What happens when you don't have a father?

[GiveHerHellFromUs]

On the BBC they're discussing the differences between civil partnerships and marriages.

They said when you're in a civil partnership you have both parents names on the certificate but on a marriage certificate you have both fathers names. What happens when you don't have a father - ie you don't know who he is?

It's not an issue for me, it just made me wonder.

You can just have a single name on a birth certificate.

Yeah I'm asking about marriage certificates

There’s a dash there usually. Or a blank space.

I think I’ve seen on ancestry examples that they used to put “father unknown” or “Bastard” (!) I doubt they still put Bastard but I imagine the do put father unknown or a variation there of.

I just have my mum on my marriage certificate and no father listed. Over the years having to put 'unknown' on forms has come up quite a lot!

Oh ok, so you don't actually have to have the names, just one of those traditional things? Thanks!

Sorry, meant marriage 🤦‍♀️

Presumably it just says unknown

@puds11 don't worry, we'll pretend that it's still early

My dh doesn’t know who his father is nor does his mother. On our marriage cert it’s just blank.

Did you think if you don’t have a dad then you can’t get married?

@GiveHerHellFromUs I thank you kindly

Did you think if you don’t have a dad then you can’t get married?

Did you use a trampoline to manage that leap?

😂😂 @ trampoline

I haven't seen my father in years and just asked for that part of the marriage certificate to be left blank (well, there's a dash there).

I'm sure I've heard that you can also have a stepfather or adoptive father on there instead, if you have one.

My husband knows who his father is, but hasn't seen him in about 20 years and has nothing to do with him so we left it blank when we got married.

Of course you can have an adoptive father’s name there. I am adopted, my adoptive parents are my legal parents.

It depends which country you get married in, whether your step father's name can be used. In the UK I was told it's fine but I got married in Greece and they used my biological father's name, whom I haven't seen or spoken to in years but is on my birth certificate!

You mean what if they don't have a 'Dad'. Everyone has a father.

Try and think about that just a little bit longer @Awwlookatmybabyspider

In what scenario could someone not have a Dad? 🤔

Mine has my "dad" not my father. I did ask about it at the time. I didn't really want it blank, but I'd only known him a year so didn't feel comfortable to put it on public record at the time (he wasn't on my BC) I wanted to acknowledge my deceased "dad". I was told that that was fine by the minister who married us (True fact, a nun married DH... to me

Sorry to my future descendents who I've screwed up should they decide to go through the archives ) Otherwise I don't think it's of much consequence.

A father is biological. A dad doesn't have to be.
A,man can be a dad with out being a father or a father with out being a dad.
My DD h as never met her father, so She certainly doesn't see him as her dad.

I get married in May and we were offered both mother and fathers names to be recorded, if the new certificates are available in time.

I’ll have neither recorded on mine, I believe there will just be dashes.

Everyone has a father but you can be in a position where you don’t know who he is. My DCs are donor conceived and for now we have no info about his identity. It does come up quite often (eg we just applied for US Visa Waivers) and we have to put unknown in that box. There are also two types of birth certificate - the full one has a space for father and for my DCs that space is empty. Then there’s a shorter version that doesn’t list either parent and just has their names and details.

You can also use a step-dad on your marriage certificate. I don’t think they mind who it is, father is just traditional x