Assistance with legal questions about alimony and paternity


Questioner

I live together with my daughter in a house. The father of my daughter is suddenly no longer in the picture, he decided this on 02-08-2016. He thought he did not have the charisma for it, after 3 years, because that is how old my daughter is. And he gives her up. On 15-08-2016 I received an email that I had to return 'his money' that he had deposited in my bank account in the month of April this year. I had to see this as compensation for the expenses that I made for my house. And what was left I had to give to our daughter. I got € 500,- from him. He is not on the birth certificate at the town hall, he did not want that. He has known his daughter since she was 1 day old. My question: can a father just give up his child? Even if his name is not in the birth register. And can he claim his money back, because this is not certain. I do have an email (April 2016) stating that I should consider that money as compensation. I also have to remove his data, from him, from the school forms that have already been written. Because he no longer wants to be a caregiver/parent. Is this allowed/possible? He never paid child support for his daughter. Will I run into problems later if, for example, something happens to my daughter (hospitalization; both parents must give permission for the operating room, for example)? Or otherwise… I can't afford a lawyer, so I hope you can answer my question. I hope you can help me with this question... Yours sincerely, SB

Lawyer

Dear questioner, For the question of whether a parent has a maintenance obligation towards his or her child, the circumstance whether or not there was a relationship between the parents is not relevant. Even if a child is born from a one-night stand, there is a maintenance obligation of the non-custodial parent. The same applies to a visit to a prostitute, if a child results from this. The only exception to this is a sperm donor. Recognition is a legal act by which the biological father (or another person) becomes the legal father. This is important if a child is born outside of a marriage or registered partnership. In order to recognize the child, the father needs the permission of the mother or substitute permission from the judge. By acknowledging, the child can inherit from the father and bear his surname. However, acknowledgment has no relation to child support. Even a biological father who has not acknowledged his child has a duty of support towards his child based on his biological paternity. In that respect, it makes no difference to the right to child support whether or not a child has been acknowledged. If you wish, you may contact me directly for further information or legal assistance in obtaining alimony.

Lawyer

Just to add, the fact that your ex wants the deposited amount back is not an issue because it has been given and the cooling-off period has expired.

Lawyer

The father of your child cannot simply decide that he no longer wants to be a father and that he no longer wants to be responsible for the child. Apparently he is not on the birth certificate so there will be no acknowledgement. You can hire a lawyer who can file a number of requests with the court on your behalf. This could be a request for a judicial determination of his paternity and for obtaining alimony. There are also other options, such as obtaining custody and contact. Custody will probably not be useful because he no longer wants to cooperate with anything. If his paternity is established, it will be clear to the law that he is her father and he will also be listed as such on her birth certificate. Incidentally, it does not matter whether or not he is listed as her father in the eyes of the law, as he is obliged to contribute to the costs of your daughter. Filing a maintenance request may therefore be wise. Nor do I advise you to repay the amount, as this can simply be seen as a contribution to the costs of maintaining your daughter. As I understand it, you are also the only one who is currently charged with parental authority over your daughter. You are therefore the only one who can make decisions about her. You do not have to expect any problems in the future. You indicate that you cannot afford a lawyer. Apparently your income is low. For that reason, you may be eligible for subsidized legal aid. This is possible if you have a total income of up to 36,800. In that case, you will be charged a personal contribution that you will have to pay to the lawyer with a number of additional costs such as court fees and the costs of extracts, for example. It is possible that you can then apply for special assistance from your municipality for these costs so that you would not have to pay anything to the lawyer. If you wish, you can contact me. I work nationwide.

Neem de volgende stap

Blijf niet rondlopen met vragen over je situatie. Stel je vraag en krijg persoonlijk antwoord van een ervaren jurist.
Privacy is gewaarborgd.