The father was not married to the mother who, without consulting the father, registered the child in the name of her former husband by whom she had previously had two children. The father sought various orders under the Children Act, including a parental responsibility order and a specific issue order to change the child’s surname to his. The circuit judge made a contact and parental responsibility order and directed that the child be known by the father’s surname.
Held: The mother’s appeal succeeded. The court has the power to order the mother of an illegitimate baby to re-register the child’s surname as that of the father. It could be done by means of a specific issue order.
Judges:
Hirst LJ, Thorpe LJ
Citations:
Times 22-Aug-1997, Gazette 17-Sep-1997, [1997] EWCA Civ 2272, [1997] 2 FLR 629, [1998] 1 All ER 271, [1998] 1 FCR 31, [1998] Fam Law 15, [1998] 2 WLR 392, [1998] Fam 75
Links:
Statutes:
Children Act 1989 13, Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – In Re W (A Child); In Re A (A Child); In Re B (Children) CA 5-Aug-1999
Where either a child had been registered with his father’s name, or his parents had been married, there would need to be strong reasons for allowing a change of surname. Where the parents were not married, the degree of commitment shown by the . .
Appeal from – Dawson v Wearmouth HL 4-Feb-1999
The parents were unmarried. The mother had registered the child under her former partner’s surname. The father sought an order that his name be used instead. The mother’s apeal against an order to that effect had succeeded.
Held: The father’s . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Children
Updated: 09 November 2022; Ref: scu.142669