# Re-registering birth following marriage



## Henny Penny (18 Jun 2009)

Hi folks,
If an unmarried couple have a child and are both named on the child's birth cert. and later get married should they have the birth re-registered? 

Just wondering ... thanks.


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## mf1 (18 Jun 2009)

I don't think so. 

They are still the parents - both named. What difference does their marriage make to being named as parents?

mf


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## Bronte (19 Jun 2009)

Do you have an issue because the birth surname is of the mother?


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## j26 (19 Jun 2009)

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law have recently been told that they can do this. I'm not sure what the mechanism is though.


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## Henny Penny (19 Jun 2009)

Surname is not an issue. Just wondering why there is the option to re-register if there's no benefit to doing so?


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## Mommah (19 Jun 2009)

I guess because some women choose not to register the fathers name and subsequently decide to reverse that decision.


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## huskerdu (19 Jun 2009)

As has already been said, if both names were always on the cert, there is no need and no legal or other reason to do it. 

Just guessing but could it be that some women, after getting married want their married name on the birth cert !


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## csirl (19 Jun 2009)

huskerdu said:


> As has already been said, if both names were always on the cert, there is no need and no legal or other reason to do it.
> 
> Just guessing but could it be that some women, after getting married want their married name on the birth cert !


 
A birth cert is a point in time document - i.e. it details the circumstances that existed at the time the registration took place.

If the parents were unmarried at this time, it is a historic fact, and so cannot be changed. Likewise with the mothers surname - it was what it was at the time of registration. Same with the parents occupations on the certs - you dont re-register all your children every time you change job !

As far as succession law is concerned, it does not matter if the parents were married or not.

The only impact marriage has is on guardianship. If the unmarried parents of a child marry at a later date, the marriage automatically confers guardianship on the father (which he may not legally have beforehand).


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## Henny Penny (19 Jun 2009)

Thanks for your reply csirl. Very helpful.


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## Dreamerb (23 Jun 2009)

csirl said:


> A birth cert is a point in time document - i.e. it details the circumstances that existed at the time the registration took place.


Well, yes - but it's still possible, under the Civil Registration Act 2004 to re-register the birth to reflect the marriage. 
See section 24 of the Act (oddly, although we no longer refer to a child born to an unmarried couple as illegitimate, the subsequent marriage of the parents still "legitimates" them ), online here:
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2004/en/act/pub/0003/index.html
It also seems to suggest that the birth *must* be re-registered [subsection (4)].


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## Bronte (24 Jun 2009)

Not all married women change their maiden name when they get married.  If a child has the mother's maiden name it can be changed by simple deed poll, a document is submitted to the High court and it doesn't cost much.


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## Scotsgirl (24 Jun 2009)

I recently got my son's late father onto his birth cert.  My son's name is down as his first name only.  When it was just my name on the cert, he obviously took my surname as his.  Now that his father's name is on the cert he can choose to use either surname.  He is still going to use my surname as too complicated to change it after 21 years.

I don't think that because the parents are now married it will make any physical different to the birth cert.  It just specifies mother's surname and father's surname.  It doesn't say whether they are married or not.


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