Parental responsibility and the falsehood of paternity: interpreting s 4(2A) of the Children Act 1989

Toby Craddock Deans Court Chambers

The acquisition of parental responsibility by an unmarried father is often achieved via registration of the child’s birth. The act of registration is not infallible and practitioners will be all too familiar with cases where paternity testing confirms the man named on the child’s birth certificate is not their biological father.

This article explores the correct approach to be taken when the birth certificate requires correction and the legal ties between the child and their caregivers need to be unpicked. A declaration of non-parentage will inevitably follow but what happens to the parental responsibility granted by virtue of the registration? Is an order required to discharge parental responsibility? Should a welfare-based decision be taken prior to discharge?

There was little case law to assist practitioners with these issues despite how frequently the situation arises. A flurry of case law was generated in 2022 and 2023 and two distinct approaches emerged in A Local Authority v SB & Ors and Re C&A. 

The full article has published in the November issue of here.