Naming father on birth certificate

[ScrewIt]

I'm pregnant & have recently split with the father of my unborn child.

I want him to have a good relationship with our child, I want him to be named on the birth certificate. However, he has already stated he will do 'everything in his power to ruin my life' & that he will make sure he gets custody of this child when it's born.

I don't particularly worry that he would be assigned custody & want to have him named as he should be on the birth certificate. I think it's important for the child to have both parents on there. Am I being naive? Is it a decision I could live to regret? Exactly what are the automatic rights he would get & how miserable could he make my life in contrast to if he weren't named?

[honey86]

i agree betterthanever on that- my ex started with petty arguments, then controlling, then false accusations then putting me down then name calling.. then started to 'bump' into me then actual shoving.... that when i ended it, soon as it started getting physical. abuse only stays the same or gets worse x

[ThingummyBob]

Honey86, yes PR can be given with a simple dna test (or without if the mother agrees that the person applying is the father of child in question.)

PR is simply 'parental responsibility' and yes it will give a father the same rights as a mother unless a court order says differently.

For example, police will not intervene in a 'kidnapping' (for want of a better word) if a father with PR does not return a child to its mother after contact. It would be up to the mother to seek the childs return via court if necessary. The same as if police would not intervene if a mother refused access/contact with a father. It would be a case for the family courts.

Married parents automatically have PR each I believe. Unmarried fathers do not unless they attend the registration of the birth (for children born after December 2003).

In OPs circs. and yours, I would NOT be offering up PR as a matter of course if it was me. If he's being an arse how would you get together and agree to register the birth together anyway?

[honey86]

is that a professional fact or your view?

on gingerbreads website it says if the mother doesnt agree to giving pr, the court will consider if its in the childs best interests based on dads reasons for it, how much hes been involved and if theres a bond.

it doesnt make sense, why would a court just hand legal rights over to any fucker just cos hes the biological dad. what if a criminal decided to come back and just apply for pr? what, the court would go 'oh yeah dna test is positive, heres your legal rights to that child'

im sorry but that just doesnt seem right. why would a court put a child at risk like that?

[betterthanever]

PR is not decided by a DNA test - paternity is. A court can grant a PR if the parent has an attachment to the child and has demonstrated a commitement and it is the child's best interest, not because the DNA result identified them as the father.

[betterthanever]

I actually like honey's why would a court just hand legal rights over to any fucker just cos hes the biological dad. better than my version although my exp would like that to be the case.

[honey86]

pmsl i was never one to beat around the bush

[girliefriend]

Sorry haven't read all the replies but he sounds like an idiot and I would not put his name on the birth certificate. I am assuming you're not married and if his name is on there it would give him parental responsibility.

I think you are being naive tbh, he sounds horrible and I don't think a childs right to a father should be at all costs, I mean seriously would you want this man around your baby?

[honey86]

dunno, it just sounds dodge, any sperm donor just getting rights.... and dads talk about it as if we have no say, that they can just force it no matter how bad a father he is?
and if thats the case, that would mean men who do sperm donation can just turn up n get rights to a child he gave to the recipient. am i the only one who finds that freakin wrong?

[tootdelafruit]

in your shoes OP I would do absoloutely nothing.

I would let him threaten whatever he likes- let him rant and rave- don't react or respond- ignore any threatening= calls or texts.

I wouldn't inform him of scans or appointments. I would let him be the one to take the initiative to find out about the health of his baby, it's progress and growth. let him put plans in place for when baby is born, let him approach you with a plan for contact, let him ask you when you are registering the birth, let him 'put' himself in this baby's life as opposed to you 'keeping' him in the baby's life. that way you will neither be opposing contact or forcing him. give him nothing to fight against and let him decide how much of a father he will be.

if he doesn't go out of his way to find out when the baby is being registered then no I wouldn't be going out of my way to give him the privilege of deciding where baby goes to school or what vaccinations it has.

leave it entirely up to him. my guess is these are empty threats from a bitter person trying to throw their weight about to retain some control. don't rise to it- let it all wash over you. actions speak louder than words.

[betterthanever]

I have to disagree with tooth if you don't do anything, if he takes this to court you will look obstructive. The system is rightly or wrongly as it is and I wish I had known more when I was pregnant. I never imagined for one min I wuld be in this position now.
Once the baby is here you will be very busy and really would not have time to start from scratch.
Sadly screw the law stands very firm on what rights the child has and unless is can be provedn otherwise the child has the right to see both parents and have a relationship with them. This is of course should be a good' and positive' one but this is how they get cases heard in court and you would have to go through all that. Try early intervention. There wasn't much more I could have done in the past but if I had known what I know know there were things I could have done to protect my DS more. In answer to your orginal OP - no I would not put his name on (he would have to be with you at the time by the way - you can't just put it on) but I would seek some professional help now.

[tootdelafruit]

" if you don't do anything, if he takes this to court you will look obstructive. "

my advice was not telling OP to be obstructive. it was telling her not to volunteer info that he hasn't asked for. if he asks for the date and time that she will be registering the birth then of course she should tell him and give him the chance to be there. I was NOT in any way saying OP should withhold information- just that he should be the one seeking it rather than her offering it up all the time. if he wants to be a father it requires involving himself. no-one should get their DCs handed to them on a plate with all the 'caring' done leaving only the 'fun' stuff for them to enjoy.

[ScrewIt]

Thanks everyone I think you make a lot of sense & I really don't think it's a good idea to have him on the certificate, especially if it could always be amended later anyway.

One thing I'm unsure about is that someone said I could apply for child maintenance without him being in there. If I do that is that admission by me that he is the father enough to enable him to easily obtain PR should he want to? Basically he'd have to go to court in either instance so is the process pretty much the same & I might as well apply for the child maintenance?

[tootdelafruit]

I got child maintenance without exp's name on certificate but that's because he accepted ds was his son and agreed to pay- he was also seeing ds regularly though. if your ex wanted too he could either insist on getting PR when you apply for child maintenance or he could deny paternity forcing you to have paternity proven via DNA testing- which then of course makes it easier for him to get PR when he decides to go for it. this guy, at the minute, sounds angry and volatile which is why for the time being I would do nothing, let him rant and get whatever he wants out of his system- don't react. then by the time the baby is born he may (may not though) have calmed enough to see that he needs to be reasonable if he expects a relationship with his child. how long til you are due?

[ThingummyBob]

honey I specifically said it can be given on the basis of a dna test, and it can. If there is no good reason for a court to deny a father parental responsibility then it will be given. It is not a question of whether a mother considers him to be a good father or whatever, it really isn't.

A father can be a total arse, even to the mother of his child, and still be given PR by a court.

Remember that family courts will always consider that a relationship with both parents is in the best interests of the child unless there is a good reason not to.

They are not "handing legal rights over to any fucker just cos hes the biological dad"; it would simply give the father the same automatic rights a mother has by virtue of giving birth. So a tosser ex could start being difficult by demanding to be kept informed of decisions made re the child and could look at applying for residence orders etc. I'm not sure you could apply for any sort of residency order without first having PR but could be wrong about that.

I wouldn't be rushing to give PR to any non resident parent tbh. I am grateful for the fact that my exP's cannot do much at all without my permission as both my dc were born pre Dec 2003.

[babyhammock]

For honey and screwit this from thingy: Remember that family courts will always consider that a relationship with both parents is in the best interests of the child unless there is a good reason not to.

..and even if there is a very good reason not to the family courts are often a total nightmare for mums who have experienced DV and are trying to protect their children. I don't know where to start with giving you the info on this but it is not good.

If I were either of you, I would NOT put his name on the birth cerificate. Instead be proactive, change your name and disappear. Forget the CSA as that often inflames them into insisting on their 'rights'. Every day I wish I had done this and we would have avoided hell :(

[betterthanever]

toot please don't get me wrong, I think you are exactly right that she shouldn't tell him anything he should ask... but I promise you if she isn't see to have encouraged' him to be involved.. if it got to court they would flame her.. wrongly IMO but they would. I did the encouraging' bit - we even met a few times and he still claimed he has only just found out (years and years later) he may' be the biological father of my DS but at least with copies of correspondence I could prove him to be a liar for one thing. Cafacss have been astounded at him.<br /> <br /> <strong>thing</strong> you said: <strong>Remember that family courts will always consider that a relationship with both parents is in the best interests of the child unless there is a good reason not to.</strong> we know and we all agree with that. But I totally agree with <strong>babyhammock</strong> that they some times totally disregard that relationship and the best interests.. why? not sure.<br /> <strong> I wouldn't be rushing to give PR to any non resident parent tbh. I am grateful for the fact that my exP's cannot do much at all without my permission as both my dc were born pre Dec 2003.</strong> he could take you to court and get it.... easy as.<br /> <br /> You then said: <strong>A father can be a total arse, even to the mother of his child, and still be given PR by a court.</strong> yep we know that see your post above.<br /> <br /> What a couple of us have said is:A DNA test does not give automatic' PR for the NRP, which is correct for the OP to know. My ex pushed for DNA strangely as part of a contact case.. he wasn't given PR at the hearing that the results were presented at, he still does not have PR. I pray every night the court continues to see what is in the best interests of my DS.

screw if you can manage without the money please don't apply - also agree with what babyhammock said about that.

[honey86]

if it was just a case of him being an arse i wudnt be so hellbent on keeping him away.... but hes a head case, a violent controlling one, cant control his finances, in debt cant even look after his personal hygiene ffs!! hes not even allowed contact with his first child (by his ex) cos of his behaviour!

[tootdelafruit]

how bloody infuriating better why on earth does a grown man need to be encouraged to see his child? surely the PWC is doing everything they signed up for and more by being the PWC and providing every single daily need for the child? now she must be responsible for another adult's relationship with the child? who encourages her to have a relationship with the child? no-one- because she is an adult and she has the wit and sense of responsibility that comes with becoming a parent- why on earth is he excused from having to possess a bit of gumption? arggghh!!

not ranting at you at all here better- just at the situation.

[Snazzywaitingforsummer]

Given what you have said I wouldn't name him on the certificate. Even if he can get PR easily, he will at least have to do something himself then.

[betterthanever]

You are right toot you would not believe the help' I am still being asked to give my exp who has decided to rock up years later... they twist it to be for the benefit of the child' and make you out not to care about the child just yourself if you don't. My exp had to send some info about himself to my DS, he didn't know what to put, they asked me to do the list WTF!! they said I was bring obstructive because I said I really thought he should be doing it himself.