In normal cases, a child has a legal father because he or she is born within the marriage or because he/she is acknowledged. If that is not the case, the child is legally fatherless.

 

A fatherless child may not inherit from the biological (natural) father or obtain his nationality, etc.

In accordance with the new regulation, if the child is younger than 12 years the mother or the Court of Guardianship may request the Court to establish the paternity of the natural father judicially.

 

However, the Court of Guardianship may not make a request if the mother opposes this. If the mother does not give him permission to acknowledge the child, the natural father himself may request the Court to grant him alternative permission. This thus has the same effect as judicial establishment of paternity.

 

However, the difference exists that the Court will not grant the natural father any alternative permission if the interest of the child would be harmed as a result of doing so. The condition for judicial establishment of paternity is that the child is fatherless.

 

If the child has a legal father who is not his biological father, the child must first have the legal paternity affected via the Court.

 

No expiry date applies for filing a request for judicial establishment of paternity.

 

Also, after the natural father has died judicial establishment of his paternity may be requested. In that case the Court may limit the claims according to the law of inheritance of the child if it is a matter of a specific hardship for the widow or the other children. This also applies if the man has died more than five years before the request, as judicial establishment of paternity according to the law of inheritance has no consequences.

 

For the rest, judicial establishment of paternity indeed has the consequences of paternity.

 

Concerning the name of the child, judicial establishment has the same consequences as an acknowledgment. In case of acknowledgment as well as in case of judicial establishment of the paternity the child who is younger than 16 years in principle keeps the name of the mother unless the parents jointly choose the name of the father or a combination of names (name of the mother followed by the name of the father or name of the father followed by the name of the mother).

If the child is 16 years or older he/she makes his/her own name choice.

 

(The Daily Herald)