Past Family court records

[MCR808STATE]

I am new and looking for some help on the best way to find old court records. Ive done the usual searches using the archives search and no luck.

In 1986 there was a family court proceeding that my mother went through for child maintenance from my biological father. He claimed he was not my father, long story short, the court claimed he was liable for child support. The family court where the proceedings took place in no longer there and Im not sure where it relocated to.

Does the fact that the court ruled he was liable for maintenance mean that he was legally ruled as my father? ( I might add he never paid a penny and in 1987 changed his surname by deed pole!)

Can I access these records? Would it be proof for a record ammended to my birth certificate?

Any help or answers would be greatly appreciated

[dslippy]

Amending a birth certificate is almost impossible. Te register entry cannot be changed, and a birth certificate is a copy of the register entry.

[MCR808STATE]

I am looking at how to find family court documents from 1986. Just keep ending back on pages that are not helpful when searching on google?

Any advice on how to obtain these would be a great help.

[atticus]

Have you contacted the Ministry of Justice?

I am not sure what a court order made in 1986 might state - this was before the introduction of the Children Act 1989 - but it is possible that an order for payment of maintenance might not record any finding about paternity. However you will only know if a copy of the order can be obtained.

[dslippy]

Maintenance can be awarded against someone acknowledged not to be a genetic parent - it can be someone who has taken so called 'parental responsibilty'. Such an order would not always need a finding of paternity.

[MCR808STATE]

I know that in the court proceeding that my mother had to discuss her relationship and sexual encounters with my father as part of the decision process?

[dslippy]

I suspect that you will get nowhere - particularly if you want a birth certificate namimg him as your father. It is a tough deal but many many thousands of people have hit the same brick wall.

Magistrates Courts do not take verbatim transcripts. The best kept at the time would be the clerk's notes. Whether they exist and if they do where they might be, and if they did would they say what you want, and would anyone take any notice?

I can see its importance, but be very clear what you want. If it is that birth certificate, then your father's sworn admission supported by DNA evidence would be inadequate.

[atticus]

Well, if you are able to obtain a court order, then you will know what information it does contain.

[MCR808STATE]

I reconnected with my father at 16 and had an on off relationship with him for myears , he denied knowing about me until then. I want to see the transcript to know which of my parents is telling the truth on this as well as a final attemp to get my birth certificate ammended.

[atticus]

Transcripts need to be ordered from recordings. The likelihood of any recording still being available from 1986 (if a recording was even made) is very small, so you really should not pin your hopes on that. I will be delighted to be proved wrong.

Have you made contact with the Ministry of Justice?

[DE DOGS]

The final proof if you are sure that he is your biological father would be a DNA test if that is at all possible. May I wish you the best of luck in your quest.