Late-recognised child: what consequences on parental authority?
Verified 19 January 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
When the parents are not married, the father who recognises her child after the age of 1 year does not exercise of parental authority.
The child may, however, apply for the exercise of his or her rights and duties with regard to the child, together with the mother, by one of the following means:
- Joint statement with the mother
- Family Court (Jaf)
However, paternity recognition is not possible in the following cases:
- Dead-born child
- Incestuous filiation (i.e., the child must not have been born from a relationship between a person and one of his or her own ascendants or between a brother and a sister)
- Legally established affiliation (i.e. the child has already been recognised by another father). In this case, it is possible to challenge this before you can make a late recognition.
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Agreement with the mother
The father can make a joint declaration with the mother using the cerfa form n°12785.
Joint declaration of joint exercise of parental authority
This form must be sent by registered letter without notice of receipt, in 3 copies, to the chief clerk of the court of the child's domicile.
Who shall I contact
The form must be accompanied by the following documents:
- Full copy of the birth certificate of the child, possibly with the judgement of simple adoption of the child (if adopted)
- Full copy of the family booklet
- Full copy of each parent's birth certificate and copy of their identification
- Copy of an identity document of each child concerned by the application (if they have one)
- Copy of last tax notice or education certificate
The Chief Clerk shall affix his visa and date to each of the copies of the joint declaration.
It notify one copy to each parent, by registered letter, and one copy shall be kept.
Once the steps have been approved by the clerk, the father gets the opportunity to practise parental authority with the mother as if he had recognised the child during her 1re year.
FYI
the recognition is recorded on the child's birth certificate and the family register. As a result, the relationship of paternal filiation is established.
Disagreement with the mother
The father can contact the Jaf and ask to exercise his rights and duties towards the child, in common with the mother.
The request can be made using the following form or by free mail:
Application to the Family Court (parental authority, right of access, maintenance...)
If the request is made by mail, the father must provide the following information:
- First name, date and place of birth, address
- Name, first names, date and place of birth, mother's address
The application must be filed in the court of the child's domicile.
Who shall I contact
The Jaf may accept or refuse the application based on the child's interest.
If the Jaf accepts his application, the father gets the opportunity to practise parental authority with the mother as if he had recognised the child during her 1re year.
FYI
the recognition is recorded on the child's birth certificate and the family register. As a result, the relationship of parental filiation is established.
Who can help me?
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