birth certificate amendments

[Oilyvoir]

I parent my grandson who is 5. I have looked after him all of his life but have had a Child Arrangement Order with residency for about 3 years. I adopted his mum when she was 7 so not biologically related to grandson but legally related. About a year ago we found out who dad is. Dad is in prison but gs dna tested with dad's parents and came back as a positive match (the family resemblance is striking so no surprise when it did come back matched).

Dad and family are from a different culture and religion. Grandson has spent time with them including over night stays (not recently obviously) and to be fair, he likes them and they have been lovely to him. However they have now mentioned to my daughter (they wouldn't have dared with me) the possibility of taking grandson to visit their family in their homeland. I have told them in no uncertain terms that this will not be happening. However I am concerned that my daughter will agree to having dad named on the birth certificate. If she does, he will have parental responsibility and that will cause a huge headache for me.
People have advised that I get a special guardianship order, but for various reasons I am not keen on this. My question is: Can I legally block dad from being named on the birth certificate as I have PR via the CAO? Will he need to prove he is the father. I assume that the DNA test with his parents holds no legal weight? Does anyone know where I stand on this?

Can you take out a prohibited steps order preventing him taking him out the country?

As far as I know you have 12 months to amend a birth certificate after that it needs to be court ordered

No, you cannot stop him being named on the birth certificate. He will need to apply to the courts for a declaration of parentage, which involves a DNA test. Once it is established that he is the father the birth will be re-registered.

Could this happen whilst he is in prison? Does he need my daughters consent?

Yes, it could happen while he is in prison. No, he does not need your daughter's consent. If he had her consent he would be able to go on the birth certificate without going to court.

Thank you - that is extremely helpful. If dad decided to apply for declaration of parentage, could the judge decide not to grant it on the basis that it's not in my grandson's best interest? Dad is in prison for a violent crime and was on the run for a couple of years. He has never met grandson and has never paid a penny towards maintenance. Family made it clear at the start that they wanted grandson to live with them. This is why I am worried (probably completely wrongly) that their intention might be to take him to their country and not bring him back.

The court can refuse to hear an application for a declaration of parentage if it is not in the child's best interests, but this is rare due t the importance of paternity to the child's sense of identity. If the application is heard the only question will be whether he is the father.

You need a prohibited steps order pronto.

Thank you - it's such a complicated situation. At this moment dad is in prison and has no PR. Family have been asking for a surname change to which I have said 'no' (His mother and I are his parents so he has our name). He does not have a passport as we don't go abroad (can't afford it have a caravan at the seaside). So realistically won't the judge throw it out of court because there is no way he can be taken out of the country anyway? Grandparents want a name change so that when he does get a passport it will be easier for them to take him out of the country. I'm also worried (probably wrongly) that given the type of person dad is, he could get forged documents for him in which case a prohibitive steps order won't help.

The other issue I have is with contact with mum. When I got the CAO (on the demand of children's services) mum was living with us so the judge didn't see the need for a contact plan. Now we desperately need one. I'm not sure whether to I need to go through mediation in order to get the CAO updated. Could I in theory kill 2 birds with one stone and get the prohibitive steps for grandparents and contact agreement for mum all done and dusted together (but then there would be 2 different steps of respondents and who would be the respondent with grandparents - them or dad?)

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Action against the grandparents would be separate to action against the mother. You can't roll them up into one.

You need to attend an MIAM (Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting) before taking action. You don't have to actually attempt mediation but it would be better to try if possible.

Anyone who takes your grandson out of the country without your consent is committing a criminal offence, even if they have a valid passport. A prohibited steps order won't necessarily help but, if there are good reasons to believe the grandparents may attempt to abduct your grandson, you may be able to get an order.

Lots of great advice here OP, do get legal advice ASAP.

I have nothing specific to say, except that from the information you’ve given I would absolutely assume that the Paternal family intends to take charge of the child which would likely include taking him out of the country.

I would assume the worst now, and act politely but very aggressively to prevent that happening. Sounds like they did a very poor job parenting their own son and the last thing your grandson needs after an uncertain start in life is more bad parenting.

Thanks for your help once again. I have let them know that they will not be taking grandson out of the country. They do not know our address, so I'm just tempted to block their numbers and hope for the best though would need daughter to do the same thing. I know this isn't really a solution as it would be easy enough for them to track us down. Also DGS would be upset to loose contact with them after he has just found them.

You should block them