What is legal parentage?
Legal parentage provides a parent with a lifelong connection to their child by recognising that they are legally and financially responsible for them. Being a legally recognised parent enables important decisions to be made in relation to a child’s education, religious belief, and medical treatment.
A declaration of legal parentage is a determination made by the court to establish whether a named individual is the legal or biological parent of the child. Such declaration is often sought in cases where paternity is disputed. If granted, the court may order changes to the child’s legal parentage which are consequently recorded in official documents.
Current legal position
The law in England and Wales recognises that a child has a maximum of two legal parents. This is increasingly incongruent with the rise of modern families and the growing recognition of reproductive rights in modern Britain. For example, in families formed through assisted reproduction, there may be a desire to legally acknowledge more than two parents on a child’s birth certificate to reflect the roles of all individuals involved in the child’s upbringing.
Applying for a declaration of legal parentage
Applications for declarations of legal parentage are made under section 55A of the Family Law Act 1986 (FLA 1986), using Form C63. The applicant must attach the necessary documentation to this form including a copy of the birth certificate of the child whose parentage is in question. There is no time limit to bring an application for a Declaration of Parentage, and the application can be made in respect of children and adults.
Section 55A of the FLA 1986 differentiates between cases where parentage is not in question (for instance, the child is an adult at the time of making an application) and cases where parenthood is contested or uncertain (for instance, the identity of the father or alleged father(s) is unknown or disputed).
Importantly, in order to bring an application, you must have sufficient personal interest in the application’s outcome.
Who is deemed to have sufficient personal interest?
Sufficient personal interest exists where the applicant is the parent of a named person, a named person is the parent of the applicant, or the named person is the other parent of a named child of the applicant.
Parent in this context refers to the person legally recognised in England and Wales as the parent of an individual for purposes including nationality, record-keeping, inheritance entitlements and financial responsibility.
The court is entitled to refuse an application if it considers that the applicant lacks sufficient personal interest, or that granting such a declaration would not be in the best interests of the child.
What are the benefits of a declaration of parentage?
Once a declaration of parentage has been granted, the named individual has the security of knowing that their legal status as a parent has been accurately recorded. The formal recognition of parenthood plays an important role in supporting the child’s emotional well-being and in shaping their identity. It can also help the child to understand their medical and genetic history and establishes and clarifies any financial, emotional, practical, or other parental responsibilities.
Blended families
Legal parentage in families where one or both partners have children from previous relationships can involve stepparent adoption, which enables the stepparent to adopt their partner’s child to become legally recognised as their parent. In effect, the stepparent is granted the same rights and responsibilities as the biological parent. Typically, this process requires consent from the other biological parent (if their presence is known) and a court order.
Determining parentage
DNA tests may be required to determine paternity, although in some cases, narrative evidence can be relied upon if found to be convincing. In the recent case of Mark Moore [2024] EWHC 2572 (Fam) the petitioner applied for a declaration of parentage for his deceased biological father and thereby amend his own birth certificate to obtain Irish Citizenship. The evidence of the petitioner included letters in support of his application from his putative father’s nieces and nephews, and results of a DNA test undertaken by the putative paternal niece which showed that it was 11 times more likely than not they were cousins.
Other types of parenthood, set out in the case of Re G (children) (Residence: Same-Sex Partner) [2006] UKHL 43, include genetic parenthood (provision of the gametes that produce the child), gestational parenthood (the conception of the child), and social and psychological parenthood (the development of a parent-child relationship fostered through the child’s demands and the parent’s fulfilment of those needs). The latter has gained greater significance in the context of modern families. However, courts cannot make a declaration of psychological parentage at present as declarations are intended to be matters of fact, as opposed to opinion.
The Birketts view
The prevalence of modern families is creating new challenges for legal parentage. Whether the law continues to evolve and adapt to keep pace with these changes is yet to be determined.
Please get in touch with our Head of International Family Team, Jennifer Headon, if you have any queries regarding any of the content mentioned in this article.
Find out about Birketts’ Modern Families Team.
Key Contacts
The content of this article is for general information only. It is not, and should not be taken as, legal advice. If you require any further information in relation to this article please contact the author in the first instance. Law covered as at December 2024.