Refusal of paternity is, unfortunately, a frequent occurrence. The reasons that may lead to this may be many. Due to the difficult social, financial and legal circumstances, some parents are forced to write refusals from their children. But do not forget that the rejection of the heir does not mean that the parent will be relieved of all responsibility for him.
The legislation of the Russian Federation does not prohibit abandoning children, but this procedure is difficult and putting it into production threatens with irreversible consequences. According to the Department of Guardianship of the Russian Federation, over the past five years there has been a decline in the application for abandonment of children.
Who can file a waiver
The following categories of persons may submit a rejection application:
- The mother of the child born before being discharged from the hospital.
- The father of the child, if the latter has evidence of non-involvement in conception.
- The father of the child who does not want to bear material and moral responsibility for the offspring.
In other cases, it is no longer implied voluntary abandonment of paternity, but deprivation of custody due to unwillingness or inability to provide such. In the article we will consider different cases of refusal from further custody of a minor child.
Refusal of paternity by mutual consent of parents
According to the law of the Russian Federation, voluntarily remove the responsibilities of paternity is not possible. However, no one forbade transferring the rights to adopt his own child to another person. The procedure for renouncing paternity is as follows:
- The notary must certify the statement of consent of the father to the custody of his child by another person.
- A subject who wishes to adopt a child must write a statement about this and also assure him.
- The mother must confirm the consent of the father of the child to the refusal and the statement of the applicant for adoption.
- Submit all collected documents to the court.
When all actions are completed and the court considers the application and makes the appropriate decision, then only all rights to the child will be transferred to the new guardian. Under this scheme of mutual abandonment of paternity, the biological father will no longer need to pay child support. The fact is that the obligation to pay a child to a sibling or a new “legitimate” father remains until he has a new guardian.
Since the father completely abandoned the child, later, in the event of disability or upon reaching retirement age, he will not have the authority to take care of the latter upon reaching the age of majority.
Reasons for depriving a father of parental rights
If for some reason the father does not consent to the refusal of trusteeship of the son or daughter, the mother can achieve this through the court, but in this case it is necessary to have good reasons and facts proving that the father cannot fulfill his parental responsibilities. Then only the court will deprive him of his parental rights, and the new dad will be able to adopt or adopt a child. The grounds for depriving a father of parental rights may be:
- Chronic drug or alcohol addiction.
- Intentional harm to a child or mother.
- Cruelty to a child.
- Unreasonable refusal to pick up the child from the hospital and care for him.
- Failure to perform parental duties.
- Non-payment of alimony for a long period.
Establishment of paternity
There are situations when a man finds out or realizes that a woman did not give birth to a child from him. In this case, he can challenge paternity by writing a letter of refusal and transferring it to court. With all the evidence, he can win the case.
How to challenge paternity?
If a man doubts that he is the father of the child, he can, as mentioned earlier, issue a refusal. To do this, provide the following evidence:
- medical evidence of biological inability to conceive children;
- officially certified data that refute the presence of a “documentary” father next to the mother at the time of the conception of the baby (travel documents, etc.);
- written evidence that the woman during conception stayed with another man or lived with him for a long period;
- DNA examination data proving the lack of genetic kinship with the child.
Refusal of paternity in this case should be supported by appropriate documents.
Now the rejection of parental rights involves the collection of arguments and documents on the reasons for the lawsuit. At a court session, the following conditions for the fulfillment of parental obligations are discussed. In addition to parents, a representative of the prosecutor's office and a guardianship commissioner to observe the rights of the child participate in the hearing. Without fail, the court considers the financial situation of both guardians and the living conditions in which the baby will be brought up.
Documents to be submitted to the court
If you have a question, how to file a waiver of paternity, then to submit an application you will need to provide the following documents:
- copy of the claim for the defendant;
- copies of passports of parents;
- copies of the certificate of marriage or its dissolution;
- birth certificate of a child;
- certificates from the place of residence of the parents;
- characteristics from the place of work;
- documents confirming the impossibility of paternity.
Only the court will be able to decide on the application for renunciation of the child. This is a very serious procedure, requiring a lot of time and weighty arguments on the part of the plaintiff.
The order of the proceedings
The court will consider the documents submitted and within a few days will establish the date of the preliminary court hearing in order to prepare the case for trial.
At the preliminary hearing, it will be decided whether to order an examination or to transfer new evidence to the court. If it will be difficult to obtain, then you will need to draw up a petition on the list of evidence required by the court and confirm their authenticity.
After the preliminary hearing, the court will set the date of the merits. The examination is usually carried out after the first substantial meeting, but the court does not have the right to force its passage in case of refusal by the father. Despite this, the court will take into account all preliminary evidence and make an appropriate decision.
Special order of consideration of the case
If a man who is supposedly considered the father of the child has died, but during his life did not deny the fact of paternity, then you must submit a statement to the court at the place of residence of the plaintiff on the establishment of legal evidence that the deceased accepted his paternity. Such actions are often necessary to enter into inheritance rights or to include a child in the number of heirs, as well as to assign a pension to the child in connection with the loss of the breadwinner.
The statement must indicate the interested parties. Such persons are the heirs of the deceased. If there are none, then the state tax inspectorate will be established as an interested person.
If there is a will made by the alleged deceased father, then in the case of proof of paternity, the minor will have the right to receive a mandatory share of the inheritance.If the plaintiff’s requirements are satisfied, then he will be able to amend the birth certificate of the child by assigning him the name of the father, and the baby will be able to enter into inheritance rights in the future.
The purpose of proof of paternity may be the appointment of pension payments. In this case, the person concerned must contact the Pension Fund and bring in an executive person who will be authorized to make the payment.
Legal consequences of failure
Depriving a father of parental rights leads to certain consequences:
- The biological father can no longer be the guardian of a child legally.
- The father does not have the right to participate in the upbringing and life of the child.
- He loses the right to make educational, wellness, and other decisions regarding his son or daughter.
- After the death of the child, the parent does not have the right to inherit his property.
- The father agrees to provide maintenance payments until the child has a new legal guardian.
Alimony
Let’s clarify once again, renunciation of paternity exempts from alimony or not? A payment will be made at the time paternity is finally established. For the early period of time from the moment a child is born, alimony should not be exacted.
A mother who gives birth to an illegitimate child must take into account all the consequences of her actions to establish paternity, because then difficulties arise everywhere, and a woman has to go to court to establish parental rights.
If a man does not need a baby, then legal confirmation of paternity will not always be able to influence his decision. At the same time, the mother may have difficulties if it will be necessary to remove the child from the country, move to another place of residence, sell the property of the child, change his surname, etc.
Many mothers specifically prove paternity, hoping to receive large alimony from their father. But they are charged only from the official salary of a man in the amount of 25% in the absence of other children. If the father is not officially employed, then the amount of alimony will be minimal.