Help - have I got rights?

A bit complicated. My 8 year old daughter is not mine biologically but I'm named as her father on the birth certificate. I left my partner but we have been sharing parenting 50-50 for a couple of years. The mother now wants to move away to live with her new boyfriend over 100 miles away and says she wants to take her daughter with her. Can she do that? I'm just worried that as I'm not her 'real' dad then I dont have any rights to make her stay in the area?

I think that as you are named on the birth certificate you would be in the same position as anyone else who had been so named - what would happen about children born by donor insemination if this wasn't the case? However, I'm not a lawyer so I hope someone with legal training jumps in here too.

If your ex is really serious about moving with your daughter then you will need to go to court to prevent her and you might still quite possibly not succeed. She would have to make a strong case that it would be better for your daughter to live in the new case, and established 50:50 shared care would be a strong argument against that.

Best wishes,
Sadie

I'm with Sadie on this. You should look up the case of Re A (Joint Residence: Parental Responsibility) [2008] EWCA Civ 867, [2008] 2FLR 1593. I think it apples here.

It concerned a non-biological father. The child was brought up in the belief that he was the real father. On breakdown of the relationship, it turned out he was not. He issued applications for residence, contact and parental responsibility.

On Appeal, he got a joint residence order so he could have PR. The court wouldn't make a separate order that he was the child's biological father. No surprise there, as he clearly wasn't.

If you are on the birth certificate, it can be argued that you already have PR. If not, you may be entitled to it by arguing the child has lived with you for more than 3 years since 2006 - even if only for part of each week. (s4A Children Act 1989)

If not, you are still entitled to apply for a residence order. It would be "shared" residence not "joint". "Joint" residence implies you both still live together. A residence order carries with it the automatic award of PR. So you get it one way or the other.

HTH - Will C

Oh yes - and I meant to say that if you have PR (see where I'm going?) you can apply for a specific issue order to prevent your daughter's removal but the whole Q of how the criteria in Re Payne would apply are a whole nother ball game. Need more facts on that one. W