Unmarried couple- best approach to birth cert

E

emefox

Registered User
Messages
16
hi

myself and my partner are expecting our first child soon and are not sure what to do about the bith cert.

i have been told that the best thing to do is to put both surnames on the birth cert as if anything happened to one of us, and if the others name is not on the birth cert it can cause legal difficulties. our aim is to get married at some stage but in the meantime has anyone elese been in this situation and what is the best route to take ............
Thanks
 
emefox said:
hi

myself and my partner are expecting our first child soon and are not sure what to do about the bith cert.

i have been told that the best thing to do is to put both surnames on the birth cert as if anything happened to one of us, and if the others name is not on the birth cert it can cause legal difficulties. our aim is to get married at some stage but in the meantime has anyone elese been in this situation and what is the best route to take ............
Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes put both names on cert.. All our our children were born "out of wedlock" and all took husband to be's name on cert with my name also mentioned.
 
be honest about it and where it says fathers name and mothers name put your own correct names. there are advantages and disadvantages i guess, but it is what i would do.
 
nelly said:
be honest about it and where it says fathers name and mothers name put your own correct names. there are advantages and disadvantages i guess, but it is what i would do.
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware that there were any disadvantages of putting father's name down..could you explain what they are?
 
For what it's worth - from :
Married parents of a child are "joint-guardians" and have equal rights in relation to the child. The rights of parents to guardianship are set down in .
For children born outside of marriage in Ireland, only the mother has automatic rights to guardianship. (Even though a father's name may be registered on the child's birth certificate, this does not give him any guardianship rights in respect of his child). Read more in 'Rules' below.

Rules

If a child in Ireland is born out outside of marriage, the mother is the sole guardian. The position of the unmarried father of the child is not so certain. If the mother agrees, the father can become a joint-guardian if both parents sign a "statutory declaration".
Click to expand...
 
Thanks's Clubman. Are guardianship rites automatically given to father should couple marry at a later date?
 
gauloise said:
Are guardianship rites automatically given to father should couple marry at a later date?
Click to expand...
Yes
I was in a similar posistion as you and i gave my son his fathers surname on the birth cert as we were getting married the next year. If you too are getting married you should just put the fathers surname on.
 
Just to clarify - I presume that this only applies if the husband is the biological father of the child and if he is not then he would have to formally adopt the child?
 
ClubMan said:
Just to clarify - I presume that this only applies if the husband is the biological father of the child and if he is not then he would have to formally adopt the child?
Click to expand...
Correct!
 
You either put the fathers name down or it is presuemed unknown. As far as I know you can not go back and change it at a later date.
 
ClubMan said:
Rules

If a child in Ireland is born out outside of marriage, the mother is the sole guardian. The position of the unmarried father of the child is not so certain. If the mother agrees, the father can become a joint-guardian if both parents sign a "statutory declaration":
Click to expand...

I didn't realise that. That's terribly unfair.
 
When we went to chagne our names legally (after getting married) the consulate told us that we just had to bring in the marriage cert to get new passport for myself and our child. If my now husband's name had not been on the birth cert then I think we would have had to go through the courts. Not sure whether having the name down gives any additional legal rights to the father (if couple unmarried) so it might be worth checking that out with a solicitor to see if you can draw up a doc if you think that may be necessary.
 
dubinamerica said:
When we went to chagne our names legally (after getting married) the consulate
Click to expand...
What do you mean? I didn't think that there was any legal process in Ireland to change one's name (by deed poll or whatever)? Do you mean that you just wanted to change your name on documents such as passport etc.? What consulate?
 
Deed polls do exist. I changed my name by deed poll about 2 years ago. Very straight forward procedure.
 
Ah - thanks. I didn't realise that. But in relation to dubinamerica's comment about changing name(s) legally:
The only way to legally record the change of name is by executing a Deed Poll.
Click to expand...
Do you mind me asking why you changed your name by deed poll? Feel free not to answer!
 
When I got married I wanted to take my wifes name. No one would recognise a man taking the wifes surname, not even with a marriage cert. My solicitor suggested doing a deed poll. I had no problems after that. Got a new passport and driving licence easily once I had the deed poll back from the high court.
 
In answer to the original question, the birth cert is supposed to have both parents names, so in the absense of a good reason, you should do that.
Is there nay reason why you would consider not putting the father name on the birth cert, as you are in a commited relationship and he is the childs father.
I can see no legal or other reason for leaving his name off.

You will still have to ensure that he is the legal guardian of the child, if you do not marry, as has been pointed out
 
Apart from all the legal issues what about the child? If as in this case the father is known then surely it is better for the childs mental wellbeing in the future for their father to be listed on the birth cert rather than unknown? Leaving it as unknown could create doubts and other personal issues for the child somewhere down the line.
 
I think you have missed the point... the OP is asking whether or not to give the child one surname(the fathers) or to give the child both parents surnames (mother's and Father's, double barrelled I would think). If Miss Smith and Mr Jones have a baby unmarried or married, they can decide to give the baby the surname, Smith, or Jones or Smith-Jones. The most common for a married couple would be Jones. A woman maybe not having the father around would just have Smith as the baby's surname, even if father is named on cert. I would personally think that if you are not married on the day that the baby is born, give the child the Smith-Jones as surname. Then all options are there for parents depending on their future circumstances.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top