"The father is not the one who gave birth, but the one who raised." So say the people. And yes, essentially correct. But, unfortunately, quite often a man who wants to participate in the upbringing of a child cannot always carry out his plan. We consider in the article who the biological father is, what his rights, duties, etc. After all, sometimes you need to know the rights and obligations of the parent, even if he does not live next to the child.
Who is the biological father of the child: legal definition
According to the Family Law, a biological parent is the person with whom the baby was conceived. In addition, a person is considered a father if, at the time of the birth of the baby, he was married to his mother, recognized paternity, or the court established kinship.
The law also regulates artificial insemination, where dad once became a donor. However, in this case, the court cannot establish paternity, since the cells were used to conceive by artificial means.
Paternity Recognition
It is recognized only if the parent initially agrees that the child is really his and this fact is documented. Otherwise, family ties are established by DNA analysis or trial. In this case, paternity is recognized by the person who is competent and only with the permission of the legal representative of the child. That is, if the mother is against DNA testing, in this case the father cannot go against her consent.
Sometimes it happens that a son or daughter is already an adult and the father decided to establish family ties. Then he needs their consent. If the mother is not alive, and the child has not reached the age of majority, you need to ask the permission of the legal representative, who is the guardian.
Is it possible to challenge paternity
A man can always challenge paternity if he had previously been married to his mother and admitted that he was the parent of the child. However, this can be done within a certain time. In addition, if a man wants to adopt a child, but he is recorded in the name of another, then paternity can be challenged, but with the consent of the pope, who is recorded in the registry or birth certificate.
If the father does not agree with the contest and the case is brought to court, in this case a decision is made only taking into account the interests of the child. A claim for contestation can only be submitted personally to the person who does not want to be a father. If the person is not competent, then the application may be submitted by his legal representative.
When a minor child wants to challenge paternity, then he must be assisted exclusively by a legal representative who is currently the guardian.
How long is paternity disputed?
Following the Law, paternity can be challenged for only one year, starting from the day when the parent found out certain circumstances that he did not know about before. A person who wants to challenge the fact of paternity can file a lawsuit with the court indicating the reasons and circumstances for which he does not want to be a father.
If more than one year has passed, and the application has not been submitted, then after the time has passed, you can no longer apply to the court, since a certain period has ended.
Sometimes it happens that paternity is not challenged in time. In this case, the child can file a lawsuit with the court. But only when it reaches the age of majority.
Suppose a man who wanted to challenge paternity did not manage to do this in connection with his death. In this case, the child of the deceased or the guardian of the heir may appeal to the court, but only during the year. After the deadline, it makes no sense to file a lawsuit. The court will not consider the case.
The rights of the biological father to a child in a civil marriage
Civil marriage is a fairly common union between a man and a woman. It is not necessary to stamp passports. However, when a child is born, many questions arise, especially in men. They can both recognize themselves as the father of the child, and not recognize. Depending on the conscience of the person. If the man recognized himself as a relative after a long period, then you can do the adoption of a biological father.
The woman, in turn, must understand what threatens her and the baby with a civil marriage. If the father did not recognize paternity, the mother can write the child in her last name. When the biological father considers himself a parent and the seal in the passport is not important - excellent. You can go to the registry office and register the baby on dad.
If the father recognized the child as his own, he has all the rights to raise the baby. Moreover, he is obliged to take on basic financial matters that concern the child. Especially while the woman is on maternity leave.
In addition, not only mom, but also dad should be responsible for his education, training and health. If the parents immediately decided to register the baby on the parent, but after some time changed their minds, then they will have to deal with the establishment of paternity by the biological father in the legal order, which is quite problematic. Therefore, it is better to consider all the nuances before the birth of the baby.
Sometimes it happens that the pope is not biological, but recognized him as his own, then there is no need to establish family ties. He just writes the baby on himself immediately after birth. Of course, we are talking about a newborn. If the child already has a birth certificate, and he was originally recorded under a different surname, then the father must either establish paternity, or engage in adoption.
Rights after a divorce
The child is not guilty of the separation of parents. Even after the divorce, all rights remain the same for both parents. Dad can refuse a child only if he finds out that he is not a biological father (evidence is needed) or by mutual agreement with his ex-wife. For example, a spouse has a man who wants to adopt a child, then dad can refuse the baby in favor of the family.
Mom has no right to restrict the communication of the ex-husband with the child. Only a court, relying on the Law, can determine how often they can be seen.
Father's Responsibilities
As mentioned above, regardless of the communication between both parents, the pope has the same rights to a child as the mother. The same goes for duties. So father should:
- take part in raising a child;
- to take to school, kindergarten or to circles;
- attend gaming and entertainment facilities with the child (circus, cinema, gaming complexes);
- develop a child with the help of museums, theaters;
- go camping;
- learn responsibility:
- Become a friend;
- provide;
- support morally;
- attend meetings;
- to educate, etc.
Perhaps it happened that the parents divorced, the father is still obliged to take part in the upbringing and maintenance of the child. All the nuances should be discussed with mom. In addition, she can not independently decide on the child as long as dad is biological and has not been deprived of parental rights.
Even if the father is not biological, he is obliged to pay alimony, since according to the documents he passes as the second parent. It may not contain a child only when the child is adopted by another man and has undertaken all the obligations.
If the parents have not found a compromise regarding the upbringing and maintenance of their common child, they can turn to the court for help.
Even abroad, the mother does not have the right to take the baby out without the consent of the second parent. First, dad must write a permit, certified by a notary. Without this document, mother and child will not be allowed to leave the country.
When a father may lose parental rights
As a rule, no court will be able to deprive the pope of any rights to a child for parenting. Of course, provided that he himself does not want to refuse. However, parental rights can easily be lost if the father:
- evades his duties;
- does not pay child support;
- refuses to educate;
- abuses his powers;
- carries out mental or physical abuse of a child;
- suffers from alcoholism or drug addiction;
- committed a deliberate crime that damaged the life or health of the child.
In case of evasion of the above duties, the mother has the right to file a lawsuit in court about the deprivation of her father's parental rights.
In addition, neighbors or relatives can write a statement to the police if they see that dad treats his child badly.
They can deprive of parental rights after the prosecutor, the guardianship and trusteeship body have considered the case. Of course, the higher authorities make a decision, taking into account the interests of the child, and not relatives. If a decision has been issued on the deprivation of parental rights, then alimony is assigned to the father in accordance with the Law. After the decision, the father does not have the right to take any part in the upbringing of his son or daughter.
Recovery of parental rights
Oddly enough, but you can restore parental rights. Of course, this is only possible if the father nevertheless changed his lifestyle and began to take an active part in raising the child.
A lawsuit is written in court to restore parental rights. Of course, if the child is not quite small, his opinion will be asked and taken into account when making the decision. And the body of guardianship will not stand aside. But now the court will make the final decision whether it is worth satisfying the lawsuit or whether the parent should be refused.
But after a child reaches a decade, only he decides whether his father wants to take part in his upbringing or not. If he refuses, the court will not satisfy the lawsuit of the father, since the decision is made, taking into account the interests of his son / daughter.
What will happen after the court decision on the deprivation of parental rights
The father, who was deprived of guardianship, loses all the authority on the child that was before. In addition, if dad received any benefits and state benefits, they are also canceled.
Even with the deprivation of the custody of the father, the child has the right to inheritance, since he is still listed as a relative according to documents. A son or daughter will not have any rights to the property of the biological dad only if they are adopted by another man.
In case of deprivation of parental rights, adoption of a child is possible only after six months from the date of the court decision.
Sometimes it happens, mom died, and dad was deprived of parental rights. Then the child is transferred to the guardianship authorities, which determine the child by appointment. Relatives also have the right to file a lawsuit for custody of the child. Quite often, the court makes concessions to relatives and agrees to raise the baby. Again, the interests of the affected party will be taken into account.