Re-registering children’s birth after marriage in the UK?

[DartmoorWanderer]

I’ve just seen a post on TikTok about this and it says that if you were unmarried when your children were born, you need to re-register them after your marriage.

Why? My parents never did this with me, and I get the feeling it’s a bit too late now! What actually happens if you don’t do this?

Deleted

I think you can get something silly like a £2 fine.

Its an outdated law from when "legitimate" children had more inheritance rights than "illegitimate". I don't think it really matters now unless you have a title.

We re registered our boys, they are now adults, not a big deal.

So there are some random inheritance laws especially if there is a castle involved that might stop your children from having their inheritance so that’s the chance you take. Also in some countries in can impact on citizenship.

You're meant to do it:-

Application to re-register a birth following marriage or civil partnership of natural parents - GOV.UK

Never did it after my first marriage, never did it after my second either.

It's apparently a legal requirement but there are no fines or penalties for not doing so. They say it can affect things like schools or passports etc. My children are adults now so I figure it matters not a jot.

Yep

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1976/31

Application

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-re-register-a-childs-birth-following-marriage-of-natural-parents

Which could be done if both parents are alive?

Nothing much will happen as the legal issues around illegitimate/legitimate were removed by legislaton

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1987/42

It's basically a really old fashioned thing that's only a problem if there's going to be an inheritance or title handed down and "illegitimate" children can't inherit.
For Mr and Mrs Average it won't really have any effect if you don't do it.

We did a civil partnership this year and have older teenagers. What kind of imheritance does it effect?

We redid our wills after the civil partnership, leaving everything to our children, house mainly. Solicitor didnt mention anything.

Ah, fair enough. My parents have wills so I’m guessing it’s not a big deal? It only occurred to me because I needed my birth certificate the other day for something, I saw this post this morning and wondered if it actually mattered 😂

Your female?

Women track their chldren by birth and once they had a legal right to own property had a legal right to pass that property to their children

If your male(?) partner has a ONS etc (or donated sperm) the child (even as an adult) would have a claim to his estate. So using DNA could challange his will.
Prior to changes in the law the right to property on death of a man (with no will) only recognised children born of a spouse as having a claim

Anything linked to Royal succession "Title Grants" (peerage title of honour etc) is normally restricted to the closest legimate male to become the "heir"

Yes I'm female, he's male, father of all the children, name on all birth certificates so already has PR for all children. Both wills leave everything to surviving partner or equally between named children. No massive estate, just house etc which would be 1 million plus due to location. Probably not worth reregistering them all in our case is it?

But the claims on the estate are regardless of being registered etc. that's the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975, which has pretty high bars for adult children claiming

For the average working class Joe there will not be enough left to make it worth arguing over in Court.

But its as far as I am aware it is an argument around being reasonable and the family circumstance?

So benchmarked against any other children (if any) and their needs and what was provided and the judge can also look at if a past failing in the parents duty resulted in a disadvantage to the child which flows into their adult life.

Which is why solicitors will sometimes advise to include clause to explain why one child is left out or been left a tiny part of of the estate.

Thanks for this. Does anyone know can you do it online or have to make an appointment at register office please? I have tried phoning but don't get to speak to a person.

All children that came out of me have been left an equal share!

I suppose you can never completely rule out a ONS child from him popping up. I would be v surprised but, many women have said that of course. Are you saying that re-registering them as legitimate offspring of a now legally recognised civil partnership between their parents would comfer some sort of protection in that case? If not, I can't really see any compelling reason to do it, although I might anyway for "tidiness'. We did the CP after 30 years primarily for IHT reasons so might be worth it just so everything is maximally legally recognised.

I have looked at that link but in the blurb it says:

"Details
If the parents have married or formed a civil partnership after the child was born, they are required to re-register the birth to have the natural father’s details added to the birth record"

Their father, my now civil partner, is already on all their birth certificates and already has PR, (earliest from after the PR rules changed in 2002) so does that still apply?

We did this, well DH insisted on doing it, I was against it because I don’t think you should re-write history and I don’t think there’s a stigma to being born out of wedlock. However it was important to him so he did it very soon after we married- DS was 2.

IPFDA relates to reasonable financial provision for a number of different categories, including spouse, child, treated like a child, co-habitee etc.

The standard for an adult child is very high. But not related to whether they’re legitimate.

If the father is named on the birth certificates why would there be a need to re register the births?

We did it as our eldest was born before we got married, we were advised to do it by the registry office when we booked our wedding, so we did. I don’t give it too much thought tbh, I don’t know if the law had changed once then it was well over 20 years ago.

Yes this is what I can’t understand either, my mum had changed her last name by deed poll when I was born, and my dad is on my birth certificate

No extra protections

Its old law which is left on the books that stops accidental error where case law or other law would change if it is removed. Its sometimes safer to just allow new law to repeals the the old ones as they solved a problem.

DNA is used and accepted to to prove parent/family links.

@Babydaze

You can follow the links on your LA
Google re-register birth and your LA
Eg

https://www.essex.gov.uk/births-ceremonies-and-deaths/re-register-birth

We had to do it in a rush when our DC got their first passport ever as an adult. Was a nightmare as we no longer lived near the original registry office.

I had previously filled in the forms and DH had never taken them and dealt with it as he was supposed to 🤬

I never suggested legitimate was an issue.

Rather that teksquad and partners* *will are based on known children.

And that men by not being the grow the baby party may not be able to say how many of his babies have been or (in theory) are in the process of being grown (sorry teksquad).