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19
Jul
2022

Declaration of parentage: the importance of identity, status and birth certificates

In X v Y [2022] EWFC 77, the applicant applied to the English Family Court for a declaration of parentage following a 35-year search for her biological father to resolve issues relating to her identity and her birth certificate. In granting the application, the court navigated complex legal issues and drew inferences from the respondent’s refusal to undergo DNA testing and lack of opposition to the application. As such, X v Y [2022] EWFC 77 brings into close focus the importance of identity, status and parentage and the re-registration of birth certificates to provide properly maintained records not just for the benefit of individuals but for the public as well.
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08
Jun
2022

Declaration of parentage: confirming family ancestry and biological parentage following adoption

The recent family law case of Ms L; Ms M (Declaration of Parentage) [2022] EWFC 38 determined fundamental questions about ‘who is my parent?’. The legal proceedings concerned applications by two women who had been adopted as babies and whether decades later they could obtain declarations of parentage to resolve their family ancestry, confirm the identities of their biological fathers and rectify their original birth certificates to add the name of their birth father. In making these applications, the two women gave compelling evidence about the importance of obtaining declarations of parentage notwithstanding being adopted to resolve their personal identities and lineage, aid their long-term psychological welfare and acquire dual citizenship.
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30
Nov
2021

Declaration of Parentage: resolving family ancestry, questions about parentage and birth certificates

Millions of people around the world are embracing direct-to-consumer DNA tests to explore personal ancestry and resolve issues about genetic identity, parentage and status. They can create complex issues about biological and legal parentage as increasing numbers of people seek to resolve their parentage under English law and rectify birth certificates. This is in turn bringing into focus the significance of applications for Declarations of Parentage in the English Family Court.
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