Contact with my new born daughter

[tombeloro]

Me and my ex partner spilt up when she was 2 months, it was a mutual split and we stayed in close contact. I supported her financial well beyond what was necessary and helped prepare for the arrival of out baby girl, which as the father is my duty.

Just before baby was due we fell out over the second name of the child, me wanting to double barrel the surname and her wanting the baby to only have hers. As a result she stopped speaking to me completely not answering my calls nor responding to my texts. on the 11th March her mum rings me to say that my ex had given birth to a baby girl which caught me by complete surprise as she wasnt dues for another two weeks. I was allowed to see my daughter for only a few hours since and now she has gone back to ignoring me again. Therefore i haven't seen my daughter for over three weeks.

I dont know what else to do. Can anyone tell me were i stand on this issue? I read on various websites that if the father is not registered on the birth certificate the he get no right over the child and i am worried she might have already registered the birth of our child without me.

I want to be involved in my daughters life and upbringing but it seems that there isnt much i can do.

[Amy]

Re: Contact with my new born daughter

Were you or are you married to the mother because the laws are different for unmarried fathers?

[tombeloro]

Re: Contact with my new born daughter

No we were not married and that's my biggest worry. I have done a lot of reading on the internet about this and it seems if you were not married at the time of conception then there isn't much that i can do.

[Amy]

Re: Contact with my new born daughter

Since you are not married you will both have been required to attend in order to register the birth if you or she wished you to be named on the child's birth certificate.

If you are named on her birth certificate then you will automatically have parental responsibility for your daughter whether you are married or not.

If you are not named on the birth certificate and your ex-girlfriend is unlikely to agree to a voluntary parental responsibility agreement you will need to apply to the Family Proceedings Court for an order to enforce.

Your best bet is to get advice from a solicitor and if you choose carefully you can generally find one that offers an hours free consultation.

[tombeloro]

Re: Contact with my new born daughter

I have already been to get advice from a family solicitors. It's going to cost me £1500 +VAT to apply to the courts for parental responsibility and thats just the first hearing, if we have to go to a final hearing, which is more than likely then it could cost me up to £5000+VAT, that's not including any time I need to go and see the solicitors before or in-between then!!! I am not eligible for legal aid as, believe it or not, my disposable income for the month is £50 over the £733 threshold. So i am seriously considering what to do!! I have just finished university so am still on graduate wage and still paying off my loans and various other debt so cannot afford to pay that much but on the other hand can't bare to know i have a daughter that doesn't know me, her father.

Thanks for the advice Amy.

[Amy]

Re: Contact with my new born daughter

I have already been to get advice from a family solicitors. It's going to cost me £1500 +VAT to apply to the courts for parental responsibility and thats just the first hearing, if we have to go to a final hearing, which is more than likely then it could cost me up to £5000+VAT, that's not including any time I need to go and see the solicitors before or in-between then!!!

Are these the figures quoted by a Family Solicitor?

[TUTTSI]

Re: Contact with my new born daughter

Might be an idea to obtain some further quotations on Solicitor costs.

Also, can you get any help from members of your family?

Tuttsi

[tombeloro]

Re: Contact with my new born daughter

Yeah thats what i was quoted by the Family Solicitor i went to see. Does that seem too high? I have no idea how much these things cost and assumed it was a standard fee if you went to court. I have already paid £360 for the solicitors to write two letters to her one to inivite her to mediation in order to draw up a timetable for me to see my daughter and the second to provided me with a date and time of when she is going to register the birth of our daughter so i can attened. So far she hasn't responded to either of these letters.

My grandparents did offer to lend me the money to go to court but i feel really uncomfortable to borrow such a big amount of money from anyone. To be honest i am still looking at different approaches i could take to solve this issue as i really don't want to go to court, not only just beacuse of the cost. But it does seem like court will be the only solution.

[Amy]

Re: Contact with my new born daughter

I believe you could make the application for parental responsibility to the court yourself.

You need to file a C1 http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/c...es/C1_0410.pdf and the fee would appear to be £175 so I am unsure as to where your solicitor got the fee of £1500 other than for his time. Court fees can be found here http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/c...0_web_0210.pdf and the parental responsibility fee is on page 11.

After the bank holiday, give the court a call and ask their advice.

[tombeloro]

Re: Contact with my new born daughter

Thanks for the links and advice Amy. I will give the court a call Tuesday morning and fill in the application form if necessary.

Thanks