There are a great many cases when it is necessary to record the father in the first document of a newborn. This could be a single mother who wants to add information about her dad so that there is no dash on the birth certificate. Or unmarried parents decided to legitimize the birth of a new citizen. Often, men who have entered into a relationship with a single woman of their own free will want to become the father of a child and enter information about themselves into the SoR. Let's see how easy it is to do this.
Acknowledgment of paternity
If there is a dash in the father column, the man can submit a joint application with his mother or contact the registry office independently. This procedure is called recognition of paternity and will not require the applicant to undergo genetic examinations or provide any evidence. All you need to do is fill out form No. 12 and submit it to the registration authority. When contacting the registry office, future parents must prepare the following documents:
- Passports;
- Medical birth certificate, if applying for CoP for the first time;
- State duty for entering information and re-issuing (350 rubles);
In other cases, in the absence of a mutual agreement, it will be possible to register the father only after a trial and a positive decision. Based on it, a corresponding entry will be made in the birth certificate.
Is it possible to give a child the mother's maiden name?
Married
Based on the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, and specifically the provisions of the Family Code regulating these actions (Article 58), a child born in marriage is assigned the surname of the parents.
If the parents have different surnames, then the following options may exist:
- the baby receives his father's surname;
- the mother's surname is assigned;
- The child can be assigned a double compound surname, consisting of the full father’s and mother’s names in any order, separated by a hyphen.
But whatever option is chosen, it must be based on complete agreement reached between the parents.
In a situation where parents are irreconcilable and could not come to mutual understanding in resolving this issue, their disagreement can only be resolved officially through a private appeal to the guardianship authorities, which protect the civil rights of children.
In this, although not often encountered, case, in which it concerns the need to change an already assigned surname, one should turn to Article 59 of the same code regulating family law.
In accordance with the content of this article, parents have a real right to change the surname that the child now bears until the latter turns 14 years old, but only if they wish together.
This development of the situation is also carried out only after an official application to the local guardianship authorities, in which competent persons will consider the application and make a decision, taking into account the interests of the child.
As soon as the child turns 14 years old, he can change his personal data on his own, but to do this he will still need written, notarized permission from both parents, or he will have to personally file a corresponding claim in court.
After divorce
When the parents stop living together and the child remains with the mother, who already lives under her maiden name, then often a woman who has decided to live without her husband decides to change the surname previously recorded in the birth certificate for her baby. Such a desire is also feasible, but with the consent of the other parent and taking into account the interests of the child.
There are a number of situations when a change of surname can be made without taking into account the presence or absence of the consent of the second parent:
- his whereabouts are unknown;
- if he is limited in parental rights or even deprived of them;
- is incapacitated;
- does not take direct part in raising the child or avoids supporting him by any means.
It must be taken into account that actions to change the existing surname of a child over ten years of age are carried out only if the child himself has nothing against such a change. A child at this age has the right to refuse to change his personal data.
If a single mother wants to enroll her father
If the child’s father does not recognize him, or the woman in labor does not want to enter into conflict and is ready to endure the heavy burden of being a single mother, she can indicate any father by submitting an application to the registry office. In this case, the certificate will be issued “according to the mother’s words.” She can afford to write down any name and patronymic, but the baby cannot come up with a last name out of her head. It will be identical to the surname found in the parent’s passport (Article 51, paragraph 3 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation). Documents you will need:
- Passport;
- Medical certificate from the institution where the birth took place;
- Completed Form No. 2, approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.
After checking the information about the applicant, the mother will be issued a certificate containing information about the father. Registration will be simple and will not take more than 15 minutes after entering the office of the employee conducting the registration.
Establishing paternity. An entry about the father on the child's birth certificate.
For none of us the question arises of how to prove motherhood and, most importantly, whether this should be done. For everyone, this question is obvious and even absurd - after all, the mother of the child is the woman who gave birth to him. There are rare cases when mothers throw up their children or abandon them, but in these situations there is no need to prove maternity, since mothers do not claim this.
And from the point of view of the law, both paternity and maternity require establishment and, in some cases, proof. And the Family Code of the Russian Federation provides for the mandatory establishment of both paternity and maternity .
It is absolutely true that in order to establish the origin of a child from the mother (maternity), it does not matter whether the child was born to her in marriage or not. Both the mother of a child born in marriage and the mother of a child born out of wedlock (single mother) have the right to submit an application to the registry office to register the birth of a child. The origin of the child from the mother (maternity) is established on the basis of documents confirming the birth of the child by the mother in a medical institution, and in the case of the birth of a child outside a medical institution - on the basis of medical documents, testimony or other evidence.
Everything here is simple and obvious, the mother will be recognized as a mother in any case. Arriving in person, sending the child's father or another trusted person to the registry office, the mother will receive the child's Birth Certificate, where she will be recorded in the mother column.
There are nuances to this issue, which I will discuss separately, but now I would like to consider all sorts of cases of establishing paternity, since these are questions that clients constantly come to me with.
First, about the simplest and most obvious option: how paternity is established if a woman is officially married :
"Family Code of the Russian Federation
… Article 48. Establishing the origin of a child
2. If a child was born from persons married to each other , and also within three hundred days from the moment of divorce, recognition of it as invalid or from the moment of death of the spouse of the child’s mother, the father of the child is recognized as the spouse (former spouse) of the mother, unless otherwise proven . The paternity of the spouse of the child's mother is certified by a record of their marriage .
…»
The procedure for establishing the origin of a child from a given man (i.e. paternity) depends primarily on the marital status of the child’s mother. As is known, the rights and obligations of spouses arise from the moment of state registration of marriage in the registry office, which allows, accordingly, to protect the legal rights and interests of not only the spouses themselves, but also their children. The presumption (assumption) of paternity of the spouse of the child’s mother is based on the fact of state registration of the marriage of the spouses. Therefore, when a child is born from persons who are married to each other, the father of the child is recognized as the husband of the child’s mother, unless otherwise proven in court. The paternity of the spouse of the child's mother is certified by the record of their marriage, and therefore no additional evidence of paternity is required from either the child's mother or the child's father.
Important point!! If your marriage is dissolved and a child is born within 300 days from the date of its dissolution, then your ex-husband will still be recognized as the father. This rule continues to apply in the event of the death of the child’s mother’s spouse. In the above cases, the father of the child is recognized as the former spouse (deceased spouse) of the child’s mother.
So, the only condition for recognition of paternity of a married person at the birth of a child by his wife is a marriage record. Therefore, the registry office enters information about the child’s father into the child’s birth certificate on the basis of the marriage certificate of the child’s parents. In the event that the marriage between the child’s parents is dissolved, declared invalid by the court, or if the spouse of the child’s mother has died, but accordingly, no more than three hundred days have passed from the date of dissolution of the marriage , recognition of it as invalid, or from the date of death of the spouse to the day of birth of the child, information about the child’s father are entered into the child's birth certificate by the registry office on the basis of the parents' marriage certificate or other document confirming the fact of state registration of the marriage, as well as a document confirming the fact and time of termination of the marriage. At the same time, often clients who do not want to write down the father of their ex-spouse on the Birth Certificate, and 300 days have not yet passed, ask whether it is possible to hide the fact of marriage, for example, by coming to register a child with a new passport without indicating information about marriage and divorce. The answer today is simple: there is a single computer database in which all acts of civil status are recorded and it will be impossible to hide the fact of marriage.
The law does not provide any special conditions for establishing maternity and paternity in cases where the child’s parents or one of them has not reached the age of 18 . The birth of a child in such a situation is registered, and the motherhood and paternity of the parents are established in the usual manner. The consent of the parents (persons replacing them) of a minor father or mother is not required to register the birth of a child and establish maternity and paternity.
Now let’s look at a few situations that are not as obvious as the first, with which people most often come to me:
Let's assume that the child's mother lives with his father in a civil marriage at the time of birth. And they want to register the common-law husband as the father of the child and ask how to do this and what is needed for this.
Family Code of the Russian Federation.
« Article 48. Establishing the origin of a child
3. The paternity of a person who is not married to the child’s mother is established by submitting a joint application to the civil registry office by the father and mother of the child; in the event of the death of the mother, her recognition as incompetent, the impossibility of establishing the whereabouts of the mother, or in the event of deprivation of her parental rights - at the request of the child's father with the consent of the guardianship and trusteeship authority, in the absence of such consent - by a court decision.
…»
So, in this case, paternity can be established by submitting a joint application to the registry office by the father and mother of the child (voluntary establishment (recognition) of paternity). With this procedure for establishing paternity, the man (the child’s father) expresses his will aimed at recognizing the child as born from him, i.e. his son (daughter), and the child’s mother gives consent to recognition of his paternity.
Voluntary establishment of paternity is a legal act by the father of a child who is not married to his mother. It is aimed at the emergence of legal relations between father and child. As a legal act, the establishment of paternity presupposes that the subject performing it has an appropriate level of consciousness and will.
In this regard, it is obvious that a person declared incompetent by a court due to a mental disorder cannot voluntarily recognize his paternity. Establishing paternity is also not allowed at the request of the guardian of a person declared incompetent, since recognition of paternity is an expression of personal will. In other words, if in the first case (when the mother and father are married), third parties can come to register the child, then in the case of voluntary establishment of paternity, this can only be done by the father himself.
As for minors, the Family Code expressly provides for the right of a minor parent to recognize their paternity, which means that they can independently declare their paternity.
And another rather rare case, but provided for by law: persons limited by the court in legal capacity can recognize their paternity, since the restriction of a citizen’s legal capacity affects only the scope of his property rights, but not his rights in the field of personal non-property relations, including family ones.
Arriving at the registry office, the mother and father submit “a joint written application from the father and mother of the child, who are not married to each other at the time of the child’s birth, to register the establishment of paternity.” It is submitted to the registry office at the place of residence of one of the child’s parents or at the place of state registration of the child’s birth. A joint application by the father and mother of a child to establish paternity can be submitted both during state registration of the child’s birth and after state registration of the child’s birth. A joint paternity statement confirms the acknowledgment of paternity by a person who is not married to the child's mother and the mother's consent to establish paternity. When establishing paternity after state registration of the birth of a child , a birth certificate of the child is submitted simultaneously with a joint application to establish paternity. The territorial civil registry offices have forms to fill out for the procedure of voluntarily establishing paternity; the application must contain all the necessary data. In this case, I do not recommend that clients receive the application form in advance.
If the parents cannot appear at the registry office at the same time and submit a joint application, then the will of one of the parents can be expressed in a “personal written statement” and his signature must be notarized. In this case, as in the case of a joint application, the application must contain all the data of the person submitting it necessary for the registry office, so it is worth contacting the registry office for clarification of what kind of application they want to receive, so as not to go to the notary several times, since All notary offices make such statements the same way.
I have clients who, worried about their health, are afraid of unforeseen consequences and are afraid that, God forbid, they will not survive the birth process. Moreover, they are not legally married to the child’s father, but they want to register him as the father and hand him over for upbringing in any scenario. They ask, is it possible to insure in advance in this case before giving birth?
Family Code of the Russian Federation.
“Article 48. Establishing the origin of a child
3. …
If there are circumstances that give reason to assume that filing a joint application to establish paternity may be impossible or difficult after the birth of the child, the unmarried parents of the unborn child have the right to submit such an application to the civil registry office during the mother’s pregnancy. A record of the child’s parents is made after the birth of the child.”
The Family Code provides for the possibility of preliminary submission by unmarried parents of a future child of a joint application to the registry office at their place of residence to establish paternity during the mother’s pregnancy. To submit such an application you need:
- the presence of circumstances that give reason to assume that filing an application to establish paternity after the birth of a child may be impossible or difficult (serious illness of one of the parents, an upcoming long business trip or expedition, moving to a permanent place of residence in another area, etc.);
- confirmation of pregnancy with a medical certificate issued by a medical organization or private practitioner.
The joint application for establishing paternity, submitted to the registry office before the birth of the child, confirms the will of the father to recognize the unborn child as his own and the agreement of the parents of the unborn child to assign him the surname of the father or mother and a first name (depending on the gender of the born child). Such an application is registered by the registry office in the application log and stored on a general basis. However, it can only be realized after the birth of the child. To establish paternity, the parents no longer need to re-submit another application after the birth of the child. Registration of paternity establishment is carried out by the registry office simultaneously with the registration of the birth of the child. If, due to a change in the place of residence of the mother or father of the child, registration of birth and establishment of paternity is carried out in another registry office, then, at his request, the registry office that stored the previously submitted application forwards it to its destination.
If suddenly, after the birth of the child, the mother or father changes their decision on voluntary recognition of paternity (on the part of the father) or giving consent to it (on the part of the mother), then they can withdraw their application submitted before the birth of the child. At the same time, the withdrawn application remains with the registry office, and is made on it.
Above I talked about a case when both mother and father want to acknowledge paternity and do this together. But there are cases when the mother does not want or cannot agree with the recognition of a specific man as the father of the child. The Family Code allows paternity to be established by an individual application from a father who is not married to the child’s mother at the time of the child’s birth. This can only be done if certain conditions are met. Firstly, this is possible in cases strictly defined by law, namely: the death of the mother, her recognition as incompetent, the impossibility of establishing her whereabouts, or deprivation of her parental rights. These circumstances must be confirmed by attaching to a written application to establish paternity to the registry office of the person who recognizes himself as the father of the child, the relevant documents: the death certificate of the mother, a court decision declaring the mother incompetent or depriving her of parental rights, or a court decision declaring the mother unknown missing or a document issued by the internal affairs body at the mother’s last known place of residence, confirming the impossibility of establishing her place of residence.
Secondly, to establish paternity in the registry office at the request of only the father of the child in relation to a child under the age of majority, in the above cases, the consent of the guardianship and trusteeship authority is required, which is an additional guarantee of the protection of the rights and interests of the child. For example, establishing paternity at the request of a person declared legally incompetent due to a mental disorder is not allowed.
A man has the right to recognize himself as the father of his adult child. However, the law establishes a certain requirement for this: establishing paternity in relation to a person who has reached eighteen years of age (the age of majority) is allowed only with his consent. Thus, establishing paternity in relation to an adult child depends on the will of not only the father, but also the child himself. No motives are required to justify his (her) adoption of such a decision.
So, all formalities have been completed and paternity has been established. If it is established at the time of issuance of the child’s birth certificate, then the name of the father and mother is immediately entered into it. If paternity is established later, the parent pays a state fee of 100 rubles. and receive a new certificate.
There is also the third most common variant of the situation in the matter of establishing paternity : The child’s mother wants to make an entry about the father on her own, without giving his voluntary consent to establish paternity. Can this be done and how?
Family Code of the Russian Federation.
“Article 51. Entry of the child’s parents in the birth register
3. In the event of the birth of a child to an unmarried mother, in the absence of a joint application by the parents or in the absence of a court decision to establish paternity, the surname of the child’s father in the birth register is recorded according to the mother’s surname, the first and patronymic of the child’s father - according to her instructions.
…»
According to the above article, the mother can independently write down the name and patronymic of the child’s father in the appropriate column about the father, but then a note will be made that this data is entered into the Certificate from the words of the mother. In fact, the person who is entered in this column will not have any obligations in relation to the child.
Above, I talked about the possibilities for establishing paternity in the registry office, however, the Family Code (Family Code of the Russian Federation. Article 49. Establishing paternity in court) also provides for a judicial procedure for establishing paternity of a person who is not married to the child’s mother, in the absence of voluntary recognition paternity. In addition, paternity is established in court at the request of a person who is not married to the child’s mother, in the case where the mother has died, been declared incompetent, it is impossible to establish her whereabouts, or she has been deprived of parental rights if the guardianship and trusteeship authority has not given consent to establishing the paternity of this person in the registry office only on the basis of his application. If you have questions about this, you can ask them in the comments, since there are too many different details that affect the overall situation.
Good luck, health and may all problems pass you by!
If the woman is divorced
Please note that for women who are divorced, it may be somewhat more difficult to enter the father. All thanks to the “wonderful” legislation, namely Article 48 of the Criminal Code. According to the text of the law, a mother who has been divorced for less than 300 days will not be able to register a “fictional” character or a man who is the biological father of the child without legal proceedings. Despite the applicant's wishes, after the birth the civil registry office is forced to record information about her ex-husband in the certificate. This state of affairs can only be challenged in court by providing evidence confirming the paternity of another man. In exceptional cases, the registry office may meet halfway and accept a statement from the ex-husband, who confirms in writing that he is not the father of the child, and statements from the biological father and mother of the child. Another way out of this situation would be marriage, then the real parent would be recorded as the father. If 300 days have already passed since the divorce, there is no need to worry about such difficulties. Separately, we note that the calculation period begins from the moment of registration and receipt of the divorce certificate, and ends on the day of birth. We hope this information was useful to you, and, despite the difficulties of upbringing, you will be able to raise a full-fledged member of society who, in old age, will bring a glass of water and serve as your support and support.
What to do if the father does not consent to changing the minor’s personal data?
If a child living with his mother has a different surname from her, this can cause a number of problems: misunderstanding in kindergarten, school or other institutions, difficulties with preparing documents for leaving, etc.
If, if a woman wants to change her child’s surname to another, the father turns out to be against such actions, then the existing disagreement is resolved by going to court, but with the obligatory participation of the authorities responsible for protecting the interests of children.
If the father does not agree to change the child’s surname or in a situation where the parent is out of reach, the child’s mother must justify the reason why it is necessary to assign the child a different surname without the consent of his natural father. Also listed above are situations in which the opinion of a dissenting parent can be ignored.
If the father conscientiously transfers the amounts of alimony due by law and actively and interestedly participates in the direct upbringing of the child, then he must also motivate his refusal to change his surname.
A father cannot prohibit changing his child’s personal data, but his opinion is taken into account.
The procedure for assigning a surname to a newborn
Every child has the right to a first name, patronymic and last name. Officially, they are assigned to the baby when registering the birth with the civil registry office (upon receipt of a birth certificate).
The issue of assigning a surname to a child is legally regulated by the Family Code of the Russian Federation and Federal Law No. 143 “On Acts of Civil Status”. These documents state that the child bears the surname of his parents. However, exactly whose last name can be given to a newborn depends on a number of circumstances.
How to file a claim?
The claim is filed in writing with the obligatory indication of the details provided for by the norms of civil and family law.
Thus, the claim must include:
- name of the court, full name and the address of the plaintiff (or his representative);
- justification for the violation of the rights and legitimate interests of the party and a description of its requirements;
- the facts and legal framework relied upon by the plaintiff;
- evidence supporting these facts;
- information that the pre-trial procedure for contacting the defendant has been followed (if this is provided for in the agreement of the parties or federal law);
- list of documentation attached to the claim.
A sample application can be downloaded here.
If the defendant does not agree with the claims, he has the right to file a response to the statement of claim with the court. Consideration of claims is carried out by the regional authorized authority located at the defendant’s place of residence. The applicant must pay a fee. He must attach to his demands documents confirming his claims.
The applicant can also provide letters to other authorities and involve witnesses in the proceedings. The plaintiff can provide evidence confirming that the person recorded as the child’s father is not his biological father (Article 55 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).
Such evidence may include, for example, the results of genetic testing, witness statements, and other documents (personal correspondence, photographs). You can use all known methods and means to challenge paternity.
With the help of forensic medical examinations the following can be established:
- time of conception (forensic gynecological examination);
- the defendant's ability to have children;
- presence (absence) of a family relationship with the child (biological, molecular genetic examination).
During the examination, medical documents are also examined: an individual card of a pregnant woman, a birth history, an individual card of a newborn child.
Samples of the application, as well as details for paying the state fee, can be found in the offices of district courts or on their websites.
Witness confirmation
If a birth occurs outside a hospital/other medical organization and without the participation of a doctor, the fact of the birth of the child is confirmed by:
- the person who was present at the birth. He submits a written application in free form. Or orally informs the civil registry office/MFC employee about the fact of birth and presents his passport;
- if there were no witnesses, then the fact is certified in court, and the basis for recording the birth will be a court decision.
Someone present at the birth may refuse to write a statement about the birth, then there is nothing left to do but go to court. Otherwise, a refusal to register the birth certificate and, accordingly, to issue a certificate is possible.
