FAMILY Registering baby’s birth is not child’s play

Registering your baby is not always child’s play


Family law
Bríd Manifold

My partner and I have just had a new baby. My partner wants the baby to take his surname. I am still legally married to my ex-husband and have children who have my ex’s surname. I was wondering if that affects my new baby?

You would have thought that registering the baby’s name was the easy bit once he or she has arrived into the world. Most new parents give hardly a second thought to obtaining the child’s birth certificate. But giving the matter more than a second thought is exactly what they should do.
If the parents of the child are married to each other, it is of course very straightforward. But in the case of unmarried parents the registrar will require a sworn declaration from the father acknowledging that he is the father. The registrar will also enquire as to the marital status of the mother. Where a woman is or has been married, her husband is presumed to be the father of her child. For the biological father to be registered, he must produce one of the following:

• Sworn declaration from the husband stating that he is not the father
• A Divorce Order dated at least ten months before the birth of the baby
• A Judicial Separation Order/Deed of Separation dated before the ten-month period and a Sworn Declaration from the mother confirming that she and her husband were living apart since that date
• A court order that names the biological father, such as an order for Access Maintenance or Guardianship.

Where one of these cannot be produced, the registrar will insist on a Circuit Court Order called a Declaration of Parentage. These proceedings have to be taken in the baby’s name by the baby’s next of kin. The Declaration of Parentage proceedings must therefore be either taken by the mother and served on the biological father, or taken by the biological father. Also, if for any reason – and it does happen from time to time – the wrong man has been named on the birth certificate, that man will also have to be served with the proceedings.
Generally, once there is conflict or uncertainty about the identity of the father of the child, the court will want to see paternity test results before making an order.  A refusal by a mother or a man to submit to a paternity test can invite the court to draw its own conclusions.
Because the obtaining of a birth certificate is the trigger for the baby’s RSI No and hence child benefit payment, there is obvious pressure on mothers to get it done as quickly as possible within the three-month period allowed.
I would suggest parents pay good attention to the actual birth certificate, as it is a civil record that can be virtually impossible to rectify later. For example, the surname chosen for the baby on the birth certificate cannot be changed under any circumstances other than the subsequent marriage of the parents, or the addition of a father’s name where only the mother was recorded initially. Birth certificates record the facts, as they stand, on the date of the registration and cannot therefore ordinarily change to reflect new circumstances.
While it is possible for either parent to attend alone at the registrar’s office and bring a sworn Declaration from the other parent with them, it is better for them both to attend together and each sign the official birth certificate as there will be no opportunity to sign it later on.
Incidentally, volunteering his name on the birth register does not grant guardianship to a father. It seems nonsensical to put a father to the additional bother of trying to establish this later on. Although it is no doubt an important personal recognition of his relationship to his child. From the baby’s point of view, it does though create a presumption of parentage which will secure his or her right to maintenance and inheritance later on.

Treoir, an organisation that provides very useful information to unmarried parents, have a leaflet on registration of births at www.treoir.ie.

The above is generalised information and may not apply to you.  You should always get individual legal advice on your own particular circumstances from an experienced family law solicitor.

Brid Manifold is a family-law solicitor and mediator based in Galway City. Her monthly columns will cover a range of family-law and mediation issues. Email your questions in confidence to Brid at
familylaw@mayonews.ie.