In legal practice, situations often arise that may contradict our moral, moral ideas. For example, abandonment of paternity. Let us impartially consider the situation, as they say, from a technical point of view: its causes, consequences, procedure.
Is it possible?
But is voluntary abandonment of paternity really possible? Not. Current legislation keeps such a decision banned. Parental rights are what are protected by the state. Therefore, by their own decision, it is simply impossible to refuse them. In addition, such a refusal directly affects the interests of the minor, which is also not approved by the state, whose priority is full families.
So which way is it possible to abandon paternity? After all, there are a lot of examples of single-parent families in our country. The first way is to deprive the father of parental rights.
Deprivation of paternity = deprivation of parental rights
Let's define the terminology. Deprivation of parental rights - legally executed interruption of family ties. It is made by a court decision. In this case, the biological father or mother lose their rights and obligations of the parent.
The procedure of Art. 69 of the Russian Family Code. Deprivation of parental rights (in our case, renunciation of paternity) must have serious reasons:
- Child abuse.
- Violence (psychological, physical) in relation to children, a child.
- Committing a crime against a child or his mother.
- Malicious neglect of child support payments.
- The presence of a harmful addiction in a father or mother - drug, alcohol, psychotropic.
- Abuse of their parental rights.
- The tendency of the child to immoral behavior - begging, theft, prostitution, drug and alcohol use.
- Obstruction to child education.
- Neglect of the duties of the father or mother in relation to the son, daughter.
Art. 70 of the IC RF prescribes that the deprivation of parental rights is possible only by court order. The initiator of legal proceedings can be both the second parent and specialized government agencies. The question is considered necessarily in the presence of an employee of the guardianship system.
Against the background of all that has been said, it is worth noting that extrajudicial voluntary abandonment of paternity in Russia is impossible.
Consequences of failure and child support
Some citizens believe that abandoning paternity is a way to avoid paying child support. But is it? Let's look at the issue in terms of legislation.
The law says that depriving a citizen of the legal status of a parent cannot cancel the fact of biological relationship, and also negatively affect his child or children.
Art. 71 of the Russian Family Code just about the consequences of abandoning paternity:
- A father who is deprived of parental rights cannot receive any benefits related to parenthood from the state system. And also for him guarantees are not available that are provided by the state to the father or mother.
- The second part of Art. 71 of the UK says that the deprivation of parental rights does not relieve the father of his duties. That is, from the payment of the same alimony.
- At the time of the legal proceedings (Article 70 of the RF IC), the question of the accrual of alimony and their amount is just being resolved.
- Refusal of paternity (by mutual agreement is a different case) does not exempt the parent from payments for the maintenance of the child. But from a matured son or daughter, such a citizen, by law, is no longer entitled to demand alimony.
We also note the fact that even the abandonment of paternity by mutual consent cannot release the parent from the payment of alimony. The law does not allow the mother to refuse such a child support allowance. After all, it’s cash payments that are sent to the stable financial support of a minor. Refusal from them is a direct infringement of the rights of a young citizen.
Preserving the rights of the child
Refusal of fatherhood (deprivation of parental rights) does not lead to the loss of certain rights of the child. In particular, this is the following:
- Use of the accommodation where the minor resides.
- Property rights, if one exists.
- Rights that arise from the fact of consanguinity. One of the important things here will be the right of inheritance - moreover, both the property of the refused father himself and his relatives.
Alternative # 1: challenging paternity
In any situation, alternative solutions are possible. To deprive oneself of paternity is real through contesting such a fact. The procedure is also done through the court. The grounds for filing a lawsuit may be two reasons:
- At the time of writing his name on the birth certificate, the man did not know that he was not his biological parent.
- Conducted genetic examination showed that the plaintiff is not a biological father.
Other evidence may be given in favor of the fact that the true father of the child is a different citizen.
If the court confirms that the man is not the biological father of the child or children, all parental rights and obligations are completely removed from the citizen. These include the payment of alimony. However, there is one “but” - if, upon recording his name in the birth certificate of a child, a citizen knew that he was not a biological parent, he could not renounce paternity. Also, one cannot refuse this in the case when the man gave written consent to use someone else's biomaterial for artificial insemination.
The nuances of contesting paternity
It is not necessary to consider citizens who disputed paternity as immoral. After all, the UK can automatically recognize as a father a man who is married to the mother of the child, her ex-husband, if no more than 10 months have passed since the divorce. Even if the biological father of the child in fact will be another citizen.
The identity of the father in the birth certificate may dispute:
- One of the parents inscribed in the document.
- Child upon reaching 18 years of age.
- The real biological parent.
- Child guardian.
If a man has doubts about his own paternity, he must submit to the court the following:
- Medical certificate of the impossibility of having children.
- A document confirming its absence at the time of conception.
- Written testimonies of persons who indicate that the biological father is a different citizen.
- DNA examination.
Alternative No. 2: transfer of paternity rights to another person
This is an example of the abandonment of paternity by voluntary consent. For example, a mother marries another citizen who does not mind adopting, adopting a child.
What should a biological parent do here? The procedure for renouncing paternity is as follows:
- The biological father fills out a document on the voluntary waiver of parental rights with the consent to the adoption of his child.
- The application must indicate your full name, data of an identity document, date and place of birth.
- Mention that the abandonment of paternity is precisely conscious and voluntary.
- An indication that the man agrees to the deprivation of parental rights.
- The citizen writes that he is aware of the fact that it will be impossible to restore the status of the father (since the child will be immediately adopted by another person).
- The man should mention that he knows about the preservation of the parental rights of the mother.
- A model of abandonment of paternity explains the design of such a document. He must be certified by a notary.
- With this statement, the mother goes to court - this is evidence for depriving the biological father of parental rights.
- At the same time, the adopter is sent to the judiciary with a desire to become the adoptive father of the child or children.
- The court, together with the guardianship and guardianship authorities, is considering the case, the attached documents.
- The judge then issues a verdict on the possibility or impossibility of transferring paternity rights.
If the court decision is positive, then the biological father is exempted from parental rights and obligations, including the payment of alimony.
Adoption without the consent of the biological father
We also note the fact that for the deprivation of paternity the consent of the man himself is not always required. The exceptions are the following facts:
- The biological father was declared missing by a court decision.
- For disrespectful reason (from the point of view of the court), the parent does not live with the family for more than 6 months. Or six months does not contribute to the maintenance of the child.
- The man was declared incompetent by the court.
Paternity Recovery
Life is a rather perverse and unpredictable thing. It is possible that after an application for abandonment of paternity, a citizen will again want to regain parental rights and obligations. Is it possible from the point of view of the legislation?
Yes, in Russia such a procedure is permissible. The citizen must apply in writing to the local judicial authority. The document is considered by the judge, after which a decision is made on the return of paternity.
A condition for the renewal of parental rights is a radical change in one's lifestyle and attitude to raising a minor for the better. It is mandatory to take into account the opinions of representatives of guardianship and trusteeship bodies. When returning paternity, the Family Code (Art. 72) also prescribes the opinion of children who have reached 10 years of age.
Having recovered in paternity, the citizen regains the fullness of parental rights and obligations.
Refusal to restore paternity
But a serious decision always has serious consequences. The court may well refuse to restore parental rights in such cases:
- The minor was adopted by another citizen - this fact can not be reversed.
- The child opposes the restoration of the father in parental rights.
- The court issued a verdict that the return of paternity would infringe on the minor.
Refusal of paternity, either mutually or voluntarily, is, in principle, a realizable solution. Although under the law it involves the deprivation of parental rights, there are alternative ways to resolve such a sensitive issue.