Reviews and appealsU.K.

26 Disputes about parentage.E+W+S

(1)Where a person who is alleged to be a parent of the child with respect to whom an application for a maintenance assessment has been made (“the alleged parent”) denies that he is one of the child’s parents, [F1the Secretary of State] shall not make a maintenance assessment on the assumption that the alleged parent is one of the child’s parents unless the case falls within one of those set out in subsection (2).

(2)The Cases are —

  • [F2Case A1

    Where—

    (a)

    the child is habitually resident in England and Wales;

    (b)

    the Secretary of State is satisfied that the alleged parent was married to the child’s mother at some time in the period beginning with the conception and ending with the birth of the child; and

    (c)

    the child has not been adopted.

  • Case A2

    Where—

    (a)

    the child is habitually resident in England and Wales;

    (b)

    the alleged parent has been registered as father of the child under section 10 or 10A of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, or in any register kept under section 13 (register of births and still-births) or section 44 (Register of Corrections Etc) of the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965, or under Article 14 or 18(1)(b)(ii) of the Births and Deaths Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 1976; and

    (c)

    the child has not subsequently been adopted.

  • Case A3

    Where the result of a scientific test (within the meaning of section 27A) taken by the alleged parent would be relevant to determining the child’s parentage, and the alleged parent—

    (a)

    refuses to take such a test; or

    (b)

    has submitted to such a test, and it shows that there is no reasonable doubt that the alleged parent is a parent of the child.]

  • Case A

    Where the alleged parent is a parent of the child in question by virtue of having adopted him.

  • Case B

    Where the alleged parent is a parent of the child in question by virtue of an order under section 30 of the M1Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (parental orders in favour of gamete donors).

  • [F3Case B1

    Where the Secretary of State is satisfied that the alleged parent is a parent of the child in question by virtue of section 27 or 28 of that Act (meaning of “mother” and of “father” respectively).]

  • Case C

    Where—

    (a)

    either—

    (i)

    a declaration that the alleged parent is a parent of the child in question (or a declaration which has that effect) is in force under section 56 of the M2Family Law Act 1986 [F4or Article 32 of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1989] (declarations of parentage); or

    (ii)

    a declarator by a court in Scotland that the alleged parent is a parent of the child in question (or a declarator which has that effect) is in force; and

    (b)

    the child has not subsequently been adopted.

  • Case D

    Where—

    (a)

    a declaration to the effect that the alleged parent is one of the parents of the child in question has been made under section 27; and

    (b)

    the child has not subsequently been adopted.

  • Case E

    Where—

    (a)

    the child is habitually resident in Scotland;

    (b)

    [F5the Secretary of State] is satisfied that one or other of the presumptions set out in section 5(1) of the M3Law Reform (Parent and Child) (Scotland) Act 1986 applies; and

    (c)

    the child has not subsequently been adopted.

  • Case F

    Where—

    (a)

    the alleged parent has been found, or adjudged, to be the father of the child in question—

    (i)

    in proceedings before any court in England and Wales which are relevant proceedings for the purposes of section 12 of the M4Civil Evidence Act 1968 [F6or in proceedings before any court in Northern Ireland which are relevant proceedings for the purposes of section 8 of the Civil Evidence Act (Northern Ireland) 1971]; or

    (ii)

    in affiliation proceedings before any court in the United Kingdom,

    (whether or not he offered any defence to the allegation of paternity) and that finding or adjudication still subsists; and

    (b)

    the child has not subsequently been adopted.

(3)In this section—

  • “adopted” means adopted within the meaning of Part IV of the M5Adoption Act 1976 or, in relation to Scotland, Part IV of the M6Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978; and

  • “affiliation proceedings”, in relation to Scotland, means any action of affiliation and aliment.

Textual Amendments

Marginal Citations