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Parental Access Following Separation
Question: I am a 25 year old male with a child aged three. The child's mother and I are no longer in a relationship. While there are generally no difficulties between the mother and me regarding me spending time with the child, I have been told on a few occasions recently that my child isn't available when I want to see him. While this is ok for now I would be worried if this became a very regular occurrence. I am enquiring as to what my rights are in relation to legal guardianship of my child and how I can perhaps regulate my access a bit better?
Answer: When a child is born outside of marriage, the natural father, unlike the natural mother, has no automatic right to guardianship and custody to that child. The Status of Children Act 1987 provides a statutory mechanism to enable you to become a guardian of your child. The Act provides for the right of an unmarried father to make an application regarding the custody of the child and the right of access to that child, as well as applying to be appointed guardian. If you are named as the father on the child's Birth Certificate, and the mother consents in writing to the appointment of you, the father, as guardian, the application to appoint you as guardian can be dealt with relatively quickly and informally. If it is the case that your child's mother is not willing for you to be named as the child's guardian then you will need to apply to the District Court. If for some reason you do not obtain the necessary Court Order then the child's mother will remain the child's sole guardian. If access does indeed become an issue or if you simply wish to set out your rights in a more formal manner, then you may bring an application requesting the Court to make an Order setting out the arrangements which the child's mother will have to adhere to if granted. This may be done at the same time as bringing an application to the District Court in relation to guardianship. In general it is far more desirable to bring a consent application before the District Court. Therefore, you should contact your child's mother with a view to her consenting to you being named as guardian. As well as this you could set out a schedule of agreed access arrangement so that you could hand that in to the Court to be ruled as a Court Order.