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Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 Non Marital Family

Changing a Child’s Surname in Ireland-What You Need to Know

change childs name ireland

If you want to change a child’s surname there is three ways this can happen:

  1. In the Birth Register
  2. By Deed Poll
  3. By Common Usage

Birth Register-Re-Registration

If the child has been registered in the mother’s name alone the birth can be re-registered in the Register of Births to include the father’s name. This can be done in the following ways:

  • Both parents register the birth together using form CRA9
  • The mother can name the father and bring along an acknowledgement from the father that he is the father
  • The father can bring along a declaration form acknowledging he is the father and a declaration from the mother confirming he is the father
  • The mother and father can make a written request on production of a court order which names the father.

The Registrar in your local office or the hospital will have the necessary forms.

Birth Register-Changing the Child’s Name

If the parents marry, and they both agree, the surname can be changed in the Birth Register. Both names, however, must have already been on the Birth Register.

Changing Child’s Name by Deed Poll

This will not change the child’s name on the Birth Register. Changing by Deed Poll involves presenting the Deed Poll and the child’s birth certificate in the deed poll section of Central Office of the High Court.

Children between the ages of 14 and 18 can sign a Deed Poll themselves, provided they have consent of both parents. Children under 14 will need to have the Deed Poll executed (signed) on their behalf by a guardian with the consent of the other guardian (if any).

Generally, the father will need to agree to the change of name, and he will have to sign a form confirming agreement.

If the father’s consent is not available all is not lost. The mother will have to swear a grounding affidavit.

This grounding affidavit of the mother must set out the reasons why the change is being sought, the father’s last address (if known), confirmation that the parents were or were not married, whether they lived together as a family unit, why consent is not available, the last date of contact with the father, and whether the mother is sole guardian or not.

If the father’s name does not appear on the child’s birth certificate the mother will have to swear a supplemental affidavit confirming there are no courts orders in place in relation to guardianship, access, custody or maintenance and setting out what role, if any, the father has in the child’s life.

The deed poll will have to be printed on deed paper and it will state that the mother wishes that the child be called by his/her new surname from now on.

The documents that need to be submitted to the Deed Poll section of Central Office of the High Court will be

  • Birth certificate
  • Deed poll
  • Affidavit of witness
  • Grounding affidavit of mother that father is not consenting
  • Certified copies of birth cert, passport and court orders relating to guardianship

A solicitor can send in the necessary documents, but the Deed Poll Section will not accept the documents directly from the applicant by post.

You can then enrol the Deed Poll on a publicly accessible register in the Central Office of the High Court, although this is not necessary and you can use the Deed Poll and the child’s birth certificate together for administrative purposes. The National Driving Licence Service (NDLS), however, requires the deed poll be registered for the purposes of getting a driving licence.

Changing Child’s Name by Common Usage

You can change a name by common usage, and use this for official purposes. You need to show 2 pieces of formal identification in which you use this name.

If you are the sole guardian of a child you can do this without any difficulty; if you are joint guardian you will need the consent of the other guardian.

Conclusion

Changing a child’s surname is easier with the agreement of the other parent.

But it is not fatal if the other parent does not agree or cannot be contacted, and applications can be made to the Deed Poll section of Central Office of the High Court and the Senior Registrar will decide based on the circumstances of the case.

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Access Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 Custody Maintenance Non Marital Family

Children and Family Relationships Act,2015-Changes Come Into Law,January,2016

children and family relationships act 2015

Parts of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 have come into law from 18th January, 2016.
These deal with
1. guardianship
2. custody
3. access.

Guardianship and Unmarried Fathers

Unmarried fathers will automatically become guardians of their children if they meet a cohabitation requirement.

An unmarried father who cohabits for 12 months with the child’s mother, including 3 months following a child’s birth, will automatically become the child’s guardian.

This provision is not retrospective, so guardianship will only be acquired automatically where the parents live together for at least 12 months after 18 January 2016.

Other Provisions

-A person other than a parent may become the child’s guardian, if married to or in a civil partnership with the child’s parent or if s/he has cohabited with the child’s parent for over 3 years and if the person has shared responsibility for child’s day-to-day care for more than 2 years.

It will also be possible for the court to appoint a person as a child’s guardian if that person has been responsible for the child’s day-to-day care for over a year and if no parent or guardian is willing to assume the responsibilities of guardianship.

The powers of court-appointed guardians will generally be limited to decisions on day-to-day matters. The decisions reserved to full guardians are decisions on the child’s place of residence, his / her religious, spiritual and cultural upbringing and on medical matters, placement for or consent to adoption of a child and on the issue of a passport for a child.

It will be possible for a guardian parent to nominate a temporary guardian for his / her child through a court-based process if the parent is suffering from serious illness or injury which would prevent him or her from exercising his or her guardianship responsibilities. The court will appoint the temporary guardian and will have the power to limit that person’s responsibilities, taking account of any limitations imposed by the parent.

-A parent’s spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of not less than 3 years will be able to apply for custody where s/he has shared parenting of the child for 2 years. A grandparent or other relative will be able to apply to court for custody of a child where s/he is an adult who has undertaken the child’s day to day care for more than 12 months and the child has no parent or guardian willing or able to act as guardian.

A grandparent or other relative will be able to apply to court for custody of a child where s/he is an adult who has undertaken the child’s day to day care for more than 12 months and the child has no parent or guardian willing or able to act as guardian.

-Relatives of a child such as grandparents or those acting in loco parentis will be able to apply to have access to children more easily in the context of relationship breakdown.

-A child’s best interests will be the paramount consideration for the court in proceedings on guardianship, custody or access.

-The court can impose enforcement orders where a parent or guardian has been denied custody or access. These may include requiring that he or she get compensatory time with the child, that his or her expenses be reimbursed or that one or both parties attend parenting programmes, family counselling or receive information on mediation.

-A child co-parented by civil partners will have the same protections as are enjoyed by a child of a family based on marriage. The court will also be able to order a civil partner to pay maintenance for the support of a dependent child of the civil partners, including where the child is the child of only one of the civil partners.

-A maintenance responsibility may be imposed on a cohabiting partner for a partner’s child where the partner is a guardian of the child.

The relevant commencement order is the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 (Commencement of Certain Provisions) Order 2016.

The relevant act is the Children and Family Relationships Act, 2015.

Categories
Children and Family Relationships Act 2015

Children and Family Relationships Act 2015-Read the Full Act

Click on the link to access the Children and Family Relationships Act, 2015.

Part 2 deals with parentage in cases of donor assisted human reproduction

Part 3 deals with donor assisted human reproduction

Part 4 deals with amendments to Guardianship of Infants act, 1964

Part 5 amends the Succession Act, 1965

Part 6 amends the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976

Part 7 amends the Status of Children Act, 1987

Part 8 amends the Family Law Act, 1995

Part 9 amends the Civil Registration Act, 2004

Part 10 amends the Passports Act, 2008

Part 11 amends the Adoption Act, 2010

Part 12 amends the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act, 2010

Part 13 amends some other miscellaneous acts.