Challenging paternity in court at the request of the mother or father. Disputing paternity Biological father disputes paternity

And 2 of Article 51 of the RF IC, can be challenged in court by a person recorded as the father or mother of the child, or by a person who is actually the father or mother of the child (biological parent), as well as by the child himself, upon reaching the age of majority, guardian (curator) a child, the guardian of a parent who has been declared legally incompetent by a court. The specified right also belongs to a child under the age of eighteen who has acquired full legal capacity as a result of emancipation or marriage (clause 2 of article 21, clause 1 of article 27 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

In view of the fact that family law proceeds from the inadmissibility of arbitrary interference by anyone in family affairs (the RF IC), the specified list of persons is exhaustive and is not subject to broad interpretation.

In the event that a statement of claim to contest the entry about the father (mother) of the child in the birth register is filed by a person who is not included in the list of persons specified in paragraph 1 of Article 52 of the RF IC (for example, one of the heirs of the person recorded as the father (mother) ) of the child, or by a relative of the child not appointed in the manner prescribed by law as his guardian or custodian), the judge refuses to accept the statement of claim on the basis of paragraph 1 of part 1 of Article 134 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, and if the proceedings are initiated, the court terminates the proceedings in accordance with with paragraph two of Article 220 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

26. Based on the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 52 of the RF IC, challenging the record of the father (mother) of the child is possible, including after the death of the person recorded as the father (mother) of the child, as well as if such a person is deprived of parental rights, since the deprivation of parental rights is not a basis for excluding information about the father (mother) of the child from the record of the birth of the child and terminating in full the rights and obligations based on the fact of the relationship between the parent and the child (paragraphs 2 - 4 of Article 71 of the RF IC).

27. When considering cases on disputing the record of the father of a child, it must be borne in mind that the rule provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 52 of the IC of the Russian Federation on the impossibility of satisfying the claim of a person recorded as the father of a child on the basis of paragraph 2 of Article 51 of the IC of the Russian Federation to challenge his paternity, if in at the time of recording, this person knew that he was not the father of the child, does not exclude his right to challenge the recording on the grounds of a violation of will (for example, if the application for establishing paternity was filed under the influence of threats, violence, or in a state where the plaintiff was not able to understand the meaning of their actions or direct them).

28. Taking into account the fact that in cases of disputing paternity, the subject of relations is also a minor child, a court decision to satisfy the claim cannot be based solely on recognition of the claim by the mother or guardian (custodian) of the child, since this may entail a violation the rights of a minor, including the right to know his parents, the right to their care, to receive appropriate material assistance, to protect their rights and legitimate interests, as well as protection from abuse by parents (Part 2 of Article 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, paragraphs 1 and 2 article 56 of the RF IC).

The courts should also keep in mind that, based on the nature of the dispute, the approval by the court of a settlement agreement in these cases is unacceptable.

29. If during the trial it is established that the person recorded as the father (mother) of the child is not its biological parent, the court has the right to decide to satisfy the claim for contesting the record of the father (mother) of the child in the record of the birth certificate of the child.

The decision of the court to satisfy the specified requirement is the basis for the annulment of information about the father (mother) of the child from the record of the birth certificate of the child.

At the same time, the courts should keep in mind that if, simultaneously with the claim to challenge paternity, the mother of the child or the guardian (custodian) of the child does not file a claim to establish paternity in relation to the biological father of the child, or such a claim is not filed by the biological father of the child, and the person recorded as the father of the child, objects to the satisfaction of the claim, in exceptional cases, in order to ensure the best interests of the child and based on the priority protection of his rights and interests (Convention on the Rights of the Child, paragraph 3 of Article 1 of the RF IC), as well as taking into account the specific circumstances of the case (for example long-term family relationship between the child and the person recorded as his father, the child’s enduring emotional attachment to this person, the intention of this person to continue to raise this child and take care of him as his own child), the court may refuse to satisfy the claim to challenge paternity.

Last modified: January 2020

One of the most common questions asked by modern parents is related to the establishment of paternity. To challenge paternity in court is the reverse procedure, when a man has reason to question the fact of consanguinity in relation to the pupil. The rights of a father to a child after a divorce are often infringed upon by mothers with whom the marriage bond has been terminated. In the case of strong arguments in the denial of kinship, a judicial challenge procedure is provided.

Actions to challenge in court rarely go smoothly, without accusations and raising suspicions. However, in order to get rid of parenthood in relation to a child from another man, one has to go to court. It should be noted that there are cases when the fact of motherhood is disputed. The algorithm of steps to challenge parenthood looks the same for men and women, and is consistent with the provisions of family law.

Basic provisions

Article 52 of the UK should be followed when it is required to dispute the relationship with a minor. Based on the results of the trial, a decision is made on the termination of paternity or its confirmation. Even with the mutual consent of the parents, the official status of the father can be terminated only by order of the district court.

The right to apply to the judicial authority shall be enjoyed by:

• citizens indicated in the birth certificate as father and mother;
• a biological parent who does not agree with the record as a parent of an outsider;
• adult child.

If the court decides to satisfy the claim, the former parent loses the rights and obligations in relation to the ward, passing into the status of an outsider. To challenge paternity in court, fathers often resort to suspecting the betrayal of a spouse who filed for child support. After the termination of paternity, the right to collect alimony is lost.

Features of the proceedings

A simple desire to terminate paternity is clearly not enough for the court. As evidence, undeniable facts must be presented confirming the plaintiff's suspicions of the absence of consanguinity. In addition to documentary evidence, the court will need. The complexity of the task lies in the voluntariness of the operation, because according to the law, it is impossible to force the submission of biomaterial forcibly.

Disputing paternity involves the involvement of several interested parties in the process:

• adoptive parents;
• guardians;
• employees of the registry office.

If kinship is disputed in relation to a child over 10 years old, he is given the floor to express his position. According to Article 57 of the IC of the Russian Federation and paragraph 9 of the Decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court No. 16, adopted on May 16, 2017, as well as the Review of the Judicial Practice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 2016, the opinion of the child on the issue of determining the status of the father is a priority.

When planning to file a claim, it is necessary to take into account important nuances regarding a child born out of wedlock:

• when a man consciously confirmed his consent to paternity when registering a newborn, knowing that there was no relationship at the time of writing a joint statement, it is impossible to terminate paternity;
• challenging the conscious recognition of paternity in a civil marriage is allowed only if it is proved that the application was made under pressure and threats, against the will of the man, or in a state of incapacity.

If the court accepts the plaintiff's side, the status of the parent is canceled, and the column in the birth certificate becomes empty. If in the course of the proceedings a relationship with another man is established, the biological father is entered on the certificate. If the claim is satisfied, the applicant has the right to insist that the surname and patronymic of the child, taken earlier by the father, be changed to the surname of the mother, if the real father is unknown.

After the entry into force of the decision, it is transferred to the registry office for reissuing a certificate for the child.

Description of the procedure

In addition to the provisions of article 52 of family law, when making a decision, the court often bases itself on existing judicial practice, when the norm of the law does not allow making the right decision.

1. Preparation of evidence base and statement of claim. From the documents to the court provide:

• legal action;
• certificate for a minor child (copy);
• a document confirming the paid fee in the amount of 300 rubles;
• documentary base testifying in favor of the plaintiff disputing kinship in accordance with Art. 55 civil procedure legislation.

According to paragraph 19 of the Decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court No. 16, the list of evidence includes:

• expert opinion;
• testimonies of witnesses and interested persons;
• conversation records;
• video material.

The examination determines the period of conception, allowing paternity, the physical ability to have children. However, the main document will be confirmation of genetic relationship.

1. Submission of documents to the court. After reviewing the submitted documents, the judge sets the date for the meeting.
2. On the appointed day, the case is considered with the study of documents, hearing of the parties and witnesses.
3. In parallel, the plaintiff petitions for an examination and the inclusion of its data.
4. If someone refuses an examination, the court cannot force an examination, and the decision will be made on the basis of the evidence presented.
5. In the ruling, the court indicates the number of the act record, which should be corrected.
6. After the entry into force of the decision in the registry office, on the basis of an application from the parent, they receive a certificate with a canceled or new record about the father.

For the registry office, in addition to the court decision and the application, they provide personal documents of the parent and child, as well as a receipt for the paid state duty (650 rubles). If the child changed his place of residence, an updated certificate is received at the same registry office where the primary record was kept or at the address of permanent residence. It takes 1 month to produce a new certificate, however, at the discretion of the head of the registry office, the period can be extended within 2 months.

What is included in the claim?

There are a number of general structural requirements for the format of a claim to challenge paternity. No less attention is required to draw up the main text with a description of the situation, the formulation and justification of the requirements.

• The exact name of the district court where the plaintiff is applying.
• Information about the parties to the process: full name, birth information, number, series, date of issue of the passport. In case of a discrepancy in the addresses of residence and registration, both are indicated. The following is a contact phone number and email address.
• If the plaintiff's claims will be represented by a lawyer, indicate similar information about him, including data on a valid power of attorney.
• The main part of the application describes the circumstances that require consideration (information about marriage, relationship between father and mother, birth data and details of the child's certificate).
• The evidentiary part indicates the reasons why the applicant cannot be considered the father. All statements must be supported by the attached papers.
• The wording of the requirements should be extremely clear and specific - to recognize the act record as invalid (indicating the number, date of the record) and to establish the fact of the absence of paternity in relation to a particular child.
• Listed below are applications that allow confirming the plaintiff's words.

Can it be disputed without genetic testing?

Correlating the principle of voluntariness in relation to the conduct of a DNA test, the court has no right to insist on passing an examination. However, the defendant's refusal to provide biomaterial for analysis is often interpreted in favor of the plaintiff. Guided by the provisions of Art. 79 of the civil procedure legislation, the absence of test results is interpreted as confirmation of kinship. A similar decision is made if the defendant's party did not appear to hand over the material for the test.

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Disputing paternity is a rather complicated process that requires the study of a large amount of information on the very institution of disputing paternity, as well as knowledge of judicial practice in this area. In this article, we will try to describe in more detail the mechanism for establishing paternity, both voluntarily and through the courts, based on judicial practice in challenging paternity.

It is possible to challenge not only paternity, but also maternity, although in practice in court the challenge of maternity occurs much less frequently than the challenge of paternity, this phenomenon is caused by the nature of childbearing: it is much easier to establish the mother of the child than the father. The reverse side of the coin leads to the fact that there are many cases when a person is entered as the father of a child, who in fact is not such.

When can paternity be challenged?

Disputing paternity and, as a result, an act recording of information about the father of a child is allowed if the parent is a man who is not actually one.

There are many reasons why paternity is disputed. For example, the presence of a registered marriage is the basis for the automatic entry by the registry office of the father of the child, the husband of the mother of the newborn, even without his consent.

There are cases when a person who is not married to the mother of the baby is recorded as the father of the child, in this situation the couple jointly submits an application to the registry office (clause 3 of article IC RF). Subsequently, the ability to challenge paternity under these circumstances is made dependent on whether the man knew that he was not actually the father of the child or not. If it is proved that he knew at the time of filing an application with the registry office that he was not the father of the child, then the court would refuse to satisfy his claim. If at the time of the joint application he did not possess this information, then, if there is sufficient evidence, the court may satisfy the claim to challenge paternity.

An application to challenge paternity can be filed with the court at any time. There is no statute of limitations on contesting paternity.

Who Can Contest Paternity?

The following entities may initiate legal proceedings to challenge paternity:

• a person recorded as the father of the child, but in fact not being such, if at the time of the recording he did not know about it;
• a citizen who, for some reason, is not recorded as the father of the child, but considers himself a parent;
• other persons authorized by law (the mother of the child, his legal representatives, the child himself when he reaches the age of majority).

Family law has described situations where the persons concerned do not have the right to dispute paternity:

• a man who was not married to the mother of the child, who agreed to make a record that he is the father of the child, knowing in advance that he is not such (clause 2 of article IC RF);
• in the event of the birth of a child by parents who are married, who gave their consent to the birth of a child by using the method of artificial insemination or implantation of an embryo (clause 1, clause 4, article of the RF IC);
• an entry about the child's parents was made after his birth by implanting the embryo to another woman for the purpose of carrying it, who subsequently agreed to the inclusion of the spouses as the parents of the newborn (clause 2, clause 4, article of the RF IC);
• a person trying to dispute paternity has no procedural right to do so.

In these cases, the court does not have the right to satisfy the claim to challenge paternity.

Procedure for contesting paternity

The procedure for contesting paternity consists of several stages:

• collection of necessary evidence;
• drawing up, on the basis of the evidence obtained, a statement of claim to challenge paternity;
• filing a claim with attached documents to the court;
• litigation to challenge paternity;
• if the court decision is not in favor of the applicant, then it must be challenged in a higher court;
• obtaining a court decision and a writ of execution.

Challenging paternity in court

Requests to change the record of the father of the child by entering the relevant data is possible only by a court decision. To do this, it is necessary to initiate a trial in this case. The legislator did not provide other ways to challenge paternity.

Disputing paternity is a complex legal procedure that requires a lot of time and nerves. It is extremely important to collect the maximum amount of evidence on the basis of which the court will make a positive decision.

According to Article 55 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, evidence includes: explanations of the parties, third parties, testimony of witnesses, written evidence, audio and video recordings, expert opinion. Depending on the situation, taking into account the above, it is necessary to collect evidence to challenge paternity. From our practice, we see that the most appropriate evidence in these lawsuits is the result of a genetic examination.

After obtaining the necessary evidence, you should draw up a statement of claim to challenge paternity, in which claims are made that are substantiated by the collected evidence with reference to the current norms of the law.

A genetic examination is appointed by the court in the event of receiving a request for this from the participants in the process; the court, on its own initiative, does not appoint a genetic examination. When drawing up a claim to challenge paternity, the plaintiff may ask the court to conduct an appropriate examination.

After collecting evidence, drawing up a claim, it is necessary to send the entire package of documents to the district court according to the number of participants in the process and for the court itself. Most often, the participants in the process of contesting paternity are the recorded father of the child, the actual father, sometimes guardianship and guardianship authorities, representatives of the registry office.

Documents can be sent to the court by sending them through the court office (in this case, we recommend making a copy of the claim for yourself, on which you should ask the office worker to put down “incoming” and sign), or send the documents by mail (in this case, you need to make an inventory of the attachment and acknowledgment of receipt).

After receiving the documents, the court makes one of the following rulings:

• on the acceptance of the claim for proceedings. This definition is adopted by the court if the claim satisfies all the requirements of the law for its content;
• to dismiss the claim. The specified ruling is issued if the claim contains a defect and the court proposes to eliminate it within the allotted time;
• for the return of the claim. The said ruling is issued by the court, for example, if the case is beyond the jurisdiction of this court.

If a ruling is issued on accepting the statement of claim disputing paternity for proceedings, the court sends copies of the ruling to the participants in the process indicating the time of the first court session.

We recommend that the defendant in the case, after receiving the appropriate ruling, draw up a response to the statement of claim, in which he indicates the reasons for disagreeing with the claim and provides relevant evidence. The defendant's oral presentation of his position during court hearings is often ineffective because they are reflected in the court record in a distorted form or are not entered there at all.

At the appointed time, the first court session takes place, during which the parties state their position on the merits of the case, present arguments and counterarguments, referring to the relevant evidence.

During the process, the parties need to petition the court to collect evidence that they could not obtain themselves, including the conduct of a genetic examination.

Based on the result of consideration of the case, the court makes a decision to satisfy the claims or to dismiss the claim. The decision of the court may be challenged within one month from the date of its adoption. At the end of the month, if none of the parties appeals against the court decision, it enters into force.

Genetic expertise in paternity dispute

Genetic examination in the case of disputing paternity occupies a leading role among the evidence. It should be requested by the plaintiff when filing a claim or during the process, the defendant must indicate its implementation in a response to the claim or also during court hearings.

In the application for a genetic examination, it is necessary to indicate the expert institution in which the applicant requests to conduct an examination.

If one of the parties submits a petition for a genetic examination, the court issues a ruling on the satisfaction of the petition or on the refusal to satisfy it, which is extremely rare and only if all the evidence in the case indicates that it is pointless.

For the duration of the genetic examination, as well as any examination, according to Article 216 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, the court has the right to suspend the proceedings, which it most often does. The commission of this action by the court is primarily due to the fact that the two-month period established by law for the consideration of a case on disputing paternity is very short, since such cases are usually complex and, in order not to violate the allotted time, the court suspends the proceedings.

The court cannot oblige the parties to come to the appropriate institution for a genetic examination, but if the party refused to conduct it, the court will consider that the refusal confirms the arguments of the counterparty in the case.

Initially, the cost of the genetic examination is paid by the party applying for it, if it wins the case, the court will charge the losing party payment to the expert institution.

Challenging paternity in court at the request of the mother

The mother of a child can initiate a paternity dispute if she finds out that another man is the father of the child.

During the trial, she is not required to prove that she did not have information about the biological father of the child at the time of his birth. The court needs to establish the fact of the relationship between the biological father and the child, and not the reason for hiding the truth.

The participation of the mother of the child in the trial to challenge paternity is an extremely difficult situation, not only from a legal, but also from a psychological point of view, since both the registered father of the child and the man claiming to be his role are most often present at the court, and both are trying in every way to humiliate the woman , insulting her. If there are reasons to believe that the process will go this way, we recommend that the mother of the child send her authorized representative to the process.

Challenging paternity in court at the request of the father

Challenging paternity in court is allowed at the request of the biological father of the child or a man who considers himself such.

Since there is no statute of limitations for challenging paternity, you can file a claim at any time, but you need to remember that if the child reaches the age of majority, you must obtain his consent to the trial. The filing of a claim does not depend on the time when the man found out that he was the father of the child or began to guess about it.

Legal Consequences of Disputing Paternity

If the court satisfies the claim for disputing paternity, then the entry in the registry office about the former father of the child is removed and a new entry is made about the actual father of the baby. The registered father of the child is recognized as a full-fledged parent with all the ensuing rights and obligations in relation to the child: the right to educate (at the same time, the obligation) the obligation to maintain, including the payment of alimony, the right to inheritance (both the child for the father and the father for a child), etc.

In case of refusal to satisfy the claims, the plaintiff re-file a claim against the defendant to establish paternity, according to Clause 2, Part 1, Article 134 of the Code of Civil Procedure RF can't. In addition, the losing party will have to reimburse the winning party's legal costs.

Challenging paternity in Kazan

If you need to challenge paternity in Kazan, our lawyers are always at your service. Extensive experience in dealing with family disputes will allow us to achieve results in the shortest possible time and without nerves.

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Disputing paternity, as practice shows, most often becomes quite unpleasant for all participants in the procedure. However, such lawsuits are not uncommon in law enforcement practice.

This is due to the need to establish or terminate legal relationships and, accordingly, the rights and obligations of the parent (or the person recorded by the parent) and the child.

Based on the norms of Russian family law and the essence of the legal procedure itself, both paternity and motherhood can be challenged in the courts. However, in judicial practice, motherhood is much less frequently challenged, since the legal procedure for establishing motherhood practically excludes the possibility of registering a woman as a mother if she is not in fact one.

As for the establishment of paternity, on the contrary, there are quite a lot of grounds for a citizen to be recorded as the father of a child, even in the absence of a biological relationship. Based on such grounds, possible cases of contesting paternity are determined.

When can paternity be challenged?

Challenging the fact of paternity, and, accordingly, the act record containing the data of the appeared child and his father, in the record book of the registry office, is allowed only when, for some reason, a citizen who is not the biological parent of this child was recorded as a parent.

The reasons for the legal recording of a man as the father of someone else's child are different and depend on the presence or absence of a registered marital relationship with the mother of the child. So, in the presence of formalized marital relations, the paternity of the spouse of the mother of the child is determined automatically when the registry office employees make an appropriate entry on paternity without asking the consent of the man himself.

The second possible basis for establishing paternity of a person who is not actually the child's parent is a citizen who is not in official family relations with the child's mother. In the latter case, the procedural possibility to challenge the fact of paternity is determined by whether the man knew or did not know at the time of filing a voluntary application to the registry office about the actual absence of blood ties with someone else's child.

In Russian judicial practice, there are usually three possible reasons for initiating a procedure to challenge paternity:

1. The actual father of the child, who wishes to acknowledge his paternity, does not agree that another man, recorded as the parent on the child's birth certificate, is considered legally the child's father;
2. A man, due to some circumstances, registered as the father of the child, in fact is not such and requires the court to challenge paternity and exclude his data from the corresponding act record as the father of someone else's child;
3. Other interested persons who, according to the procedural rules, have the right to initiate the procedure for challenging paternity in court (the child himself after reaching the age of majority, the mother or legal representative of the child), wish to terminate the legal relationship between the child and the man recorded as the parent, but who in reality is not.

There is no statute of limitations for paternity claims. Therefore, handling the relevant requirements stated in the courts is possible at any time when the interested person wishes to change the act record with the data of a citizen who is not in fact a parent. Appeal to the court is allowed regardless of the period when the man, recorded as the parent of the child, found out about the absence of family ties with this child.

Family law has limited the right of interested parties to challenge paternity in the following situations:

• when a man, recorded as the father of the child, was not in official marriage and family relations with the mother of the child, but agreed to the recognition of paternity voluntarily, knowing that he was not a parent. If a citizen who voluntarily acknowledged paternity in the registry office goes to court to challenge this fact, he must first prove to the judge that he learned about the absence of family ties with the child after the voluntary act of acknowledging paternity and submitting a corresponding application to the registry office;
• when the spouses have a child as a result of artificial insemination or embryo implantation, carried out with the written consent of both spouses to such medical actions;
• when the person concerned wishes to dispute paternity after the preparation of an act record on the basis of the birth of a child by a surrogate mother during the medical implantation of the embryo of the latter, if the corresponding procedure was carried out with the consent of all three parties;
• when a person wishing to make a relevant claim does not have a procedural right to do so.

The legislator granted such procedural authority to challenge paternity to a certain circle of persons:

• citizens officially registered by parents;
• persons who actually act as parents;
• the child himself after the age of majority;
• legal representative of the child.

In all these situations, claims aimed at contesting paternity cannot be satisfied by the court, regardless of the circumstances of the case.

Procedure for contesting paternity

A request aimed at disputing paternity, exclusion of the record about the plaintiff (respondent) from the registry office record of the birth of a child and/or entering new data of the father (record by the father of another person), considered only by the court through the litigation process.

Changing the data of the father is possible by the employees of the registry office only upon receipt of the appropriate court decision. Even if there are no disagreements between all interested parties (the mother of the child, the citizen recorded as the father, and the actual father), changing the existing act records with the data of the parents is possible only if there is a positive court decision.

As a rule, the procedure for contesting paternity is quite complicated both from a legal and moral point of view and in practice takes quite a long time. When considering a claim challenging paternity, the judge examines many facts and circumstances and, if necessary, appoints expert examinations. The whole process is maximally aimed at not violating the interests of the child. Therefore, a positive decision is possible when the court has sufficient and reliable evidence of the absence of a family relationship between the child and the plaintiff (respondent).

To prove the absence of family ties between a child and a citizen officially recorded as a father, all evidence allowed by law is used - testimonies, written evidence, video and photographic materials, and other evidence.

The most accurate results are obtained by genetic examination, which makes it possible to establish with the greatest certainty the fact of the absence or presence of family ties. Such expert examination may be appointed at the request of the parties to the proceedings. However, even a judge has no right to force citizens to undergo such an examination in the absence of an appropriate voluntary consent.

At the same time, if the possible father, who wants to refute his paternity, evades a genetic examination, the court has the right to recognize as valid the circumstances and arguments referred to in the course of the proceedings by the opposite party, even if they could be refuted by the relevant examination.

Third parties, for example, guardians, employees of the registry office, the actual father of the child, may be involved in legal proceedings that arose when challenging the paternity of a citizen. Involving a child in legal proceedings is not an imperative requirement of the law and is permissible after the child reaches the age of ten.

A child who has reached the age of ten has the right to express his opinion in court in resolving a case concerning the judicial challenge of paternity, if this opinion may be relevant to determining the outcome of the trial.

If the claim demanding to challenge paternity is satisfied, the result of the proceedings is a positive court decision to exclude the previously made entry about the parent and to enter new information about the father of the child, if it is established during the proceedings. If the actual father of the child is not established in the course of legal proceedings for some reason, and the claim contesting paternity is satisfied by the court, the record about the father is simply excluded from the corresponding act record made earlier by authorized persons at the birth of the child.

If the plaintiff also demanded in the claim to change the personal data of the child, in particular, and patronymic, the judge decides whether to enter new data into the registration information about the child. In such situations, the rule of recording the surname of the father of the child (in the absence of paternity established by the court) is often applied by the surname of the mother. In the columns "name" and "patronymic" of the actually absent father of the child in the act record, data can be recorded at the direction of the mother. The child is most often assigned in such situations the name of the mother.

After making changes about the father in the relevant act record, the child is issued a new, amended birth certificate.

Challenging paternity (maternity) in court is a lengthy and unpleasant operation for all parties involved in it. However, such lawsuits are still quite common in society.

What is paternity (maternity) contestation

According to Art. 50 of the RF IC, this procedure means the cancellation or questioning of the entry of a specific person in the child's birth certificate in the father (mother) column. As a result, the legal relationship between the parent and the child, as well as mutual rights and obligations, are annulled. This aspect is reflected in Art. 52 RF IC.

Only the court can satisfy the requirement to amend the records of the father (mother) of the child.

To do this, the applicant must become the initiator of a lawsuit, which is the only possible legally established method of challenging paternity (maternity).

Reasons for the dispute

1. The biological father of the child, notified that in the corresponding document of his child another man is the father, wants to recognize his paternity.
2. The subject, who, for certain reasons, has been registered as the father, wishes to exclude himself from the birth certificate of another child. The main issue at the trial will be the clarification of the circumstances under which it was recorded.
3. Persons who have the right to legally initiate a lawsuit (a child after the age of majority or his guardian) who do not want to have a further legal relationship with the man who is listed in the document. Important clarification: the man should not be the biological father of the child.

However, certain restrictions are imposed on interested parties in the issue of contesting in the following situations:

1. If a man who was not in official relations with the mother of a minor, but, for a number of reasons, voluntarily agreed to recognize himself as the father, finds out that he is not such. It is important to prove to the judge that the man was informed about the lack of relationship after a voluntary application submitted to the registry office.
2. The child is the result of artificial insemination or surrogate motherhood. At the same time, parents must be married and have a legally confirmed basis for such medical operations.
3. If the person wishing to file a claim is not legally entitled to do so.

Thus, the initiators of the proceedings on the issue of disputing paternity can be:

• citizens who are officially registered as the parents of the child;
• citizens who are actually parents;
• a child who has reached the age of majority;
• guardian of a minor.

Step-by-step instructions for challenging paternity in court

STEP 1. Disputing paternity is the type of lawsuit that requires the maximum amount of evidence to be collected to successfully complete it. These include:

• testimony of witnesses;
• written materials, video and photo compromising evidence confirming that the fact of paternity is false.

You can count on a positive outcome of challenging paternity by conducting a genetic examination.

This procedure can be carried out only at the request of the parties. The court is not the initiator of its implementation.

IMPORTANT: A judge does not have the legal authority to force citizens to submit to a genetic test unless they give their free consent. At the same time, if the father, seeking to annul the fact of paternity, refuses to conduct such an examination, the judge has the right to recognize the grounds that the other side refers to during the judicial investigation, even if the arguments could be refuted by the results of the study.

STEP 2. After collecting evidence, it is compiled.

It must indicate the claims of the plaintiff, justified by the evidence presented and the norms of the current legislative acts.

STEP 3. After the procedure for collecting data and writing a claim, the collected package of documents should be sent to the district court department. Often, the parties to the proceedings are the current legally recognized father and biological, mother, less often - guardianship authorities and representatives of the registry office.

The second option is the post office. In this case, it is necessary to attach an inventory (list) and a notification of delivery to all documents.

STEP 4. After the court has received the documents, the following options for further development of events are possible:

• the claim is accepted for proceedings;
• the claim was accepted, but the consideration is not moving forward. This verdict is rendered when a defect is admitted in the claim.
• claim not accepted. The reasons must be stated in the appropriate letter sent to the address of the claimant.

If the claim is officially accepted, the court sends notifications to the participants in the process about the date of the first meeting.

The second party (the defendant) is strongly encouraged to write a response to the claim in the form of a response or a letter, which will indicate the reasons for disagreement. It is important to bring evidence appropriate to the allegations, since during the trial the oral statements of the defendant may be entered into the protocol in an inaccurate form, or not entered at all.

Time limit for contesting paternity

Upon completion of the investigation, the judge announces his decision: either satisfies the claim, or notifies of the refusal. The decision of the court must be challenged within 30 days from the date of its issuance. After a month has passed and there are no objections from both parties, the decision is endowed with legal force.