Presumption of Paternity

Legal presumptions are like shortcuts in law because they handle legal matters in a useful and efficient way. Courts can come to a conclusion once a specific set of facts has been established. Afterwards, it is up to the other party to rebut the presumption. Presumption of parentage is perhaps the most significant presumption within family law.

In paternity and common law, the presumption of paternity refers to the legal determination that a man is the biological father of a child without further evidence to support this claim, and is often the result of marriage.

A child may be able to use the presumption of paternity when claiming an inheritance or maintenance. Although this is not required if the father claims paternity or is recognized on the birth certificate as the child’s father. If he confirms paternity, he can later agree to have his name added to the birth certificate. Section 88 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 amended the Status of Children Act 1987 to remove the presumption that a woman’s husband is the father of the child if the child is born more than 10 months after they separated.

In general, there is no legal presumption of paternity for the father of a child born to an unmarried mother. However, a man who claims to be the father of a child born to an unmarried mother may be able to prove in court that once he had reasonable knowledge of the pregnancy and the child, he behaved like a father, and therefore he can prove that he has rights to the child.

The court will next consider the following criteria when deciding whether to prove paternity for an alleged father who was unmarried or planning to marry the mother at the time of conception:

  • If he recognized his paternity publicly
  • If he paid any medical bills for the pregnancy
  • If he took any legal action to establish paternity, or if there was a reasonable delay in establishing legal paternity
  • Or any other action before or after the birth that proves that he was taking full parental responsibility for the child

If the court finds sufficient evidence that the father acted as a father would, then the court may establish paternity. However, if the court finds that he did not demonstrate an appropriate level of parental responsibility, then paternity will be denied to him, even if he is proven to be the biological father.

In another situation, if the biological mother was married and lived with her husband at the time of conception, the mother can deny any attempts by another individual to establish themselves as the biological father unilaterally. But if the mother and alleged father are unmarried, then she has no right to deny an alleged father from establishing paternity.

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