How to disclaim paternity

How to give up a child to a father

The Family Code of Ukraine does not have a clear and unambiguous definition of “abandonment of a teenage child”, since such a concept would have a clearly negative connotation from the point of view of morality and ethics of society. You can legally renounce paternity and free yourself from the “burden of fatherhood” only by depriving yourself of parental rights or formalizing consent for the adoption of your child by another person.

However, before taking one of these serious steps, you should remember:

• if parental rights are revoked, it is still possible to regain the opportunity to become a father to a child, but in this case, one will have to bear the burden of paying alimony until the child reaches the age of majority;
• a person who has expressed his consent to the adoption of a son by another person, “as a reward” for such release from parental responsibilities, is also released from the need to pay alimony for the child, but he will never again be able to regain his parental rights and the happiness of raising this Child on his own.

Is it possible to renounce paternity?

This question is often asked in modern society by parents, who mostly live separately from their children and are reluctant to participate in their upbringing. There is simply no clear answer to this question in the legislation, because such a formulation as how one can refuse paternity/child (maternity) is not provided for in itself.

However, even the law cannot force a capable adult to be a father or mother, therefore the Family Code of Ukraine provides for certain nuances in resolving this expression of will.

It is still possible to free oneself from the “burden of fatherhood”, but these paths are called in the legislation for moral and ethical reasons differently than “abandonment of a child”, and they provide for possible methods:

• deprivation of parental rights;
• voluntary consent of a father to the adoption of his child by another person.

If I renounce paternity, do I have to pay child support?

It is no secret that most typically the parents of minor children are interested in the possibility of abandoning a teenager, first, because of the financial responsibility for the child in the form of alimony obligations. Many people think that by refusing paternity, they will not have to pay alimony for the maintenance of the child, but this is not entirely true.

There is one nuance in this issue, provided for by law exclusively in the interests of the child: the issue of payments to the child after voluntary renunciation of paternity directly depends on the method of formalizing this procedure.

As you know, there are ways to remove parental responsibility, and it depends on them whether the father will have to pay alimony or not:

• with retention of alimony — in case of refusal of paternity in the form of deprivation of parental rights (carried out in court at the suit of the child’s mother or guardian, and the father as a defendant has the right to confirm the refusal of the child, agreeing with the plaintiff’s demands);
• without retention of alimony — it is possible “by mutual consent” in the form of a notarized consent of the father for the adoption of the child by another person (without failing to specifically indicate it — most often this is the new husband of the child’s mother).

Denial of paternity in court (statement of claim)

This form in the family legislation of Ukraine is called deprivation of parental rights, and it is stipulated in the Family Code of Ukraine. It should be understood that the procedure of renunciation of paternity is actually an extreme measure of punishment in relation to parental duty and is carried out only in court.

Many parents agree to deprivation or seek to initiate it because they mistakenly believe that this measure frees them from paying child support. However, this is a mistake.

The step-by-step process of deprivation of parental rights looks like this:

• A claim for deprivation of parental rights of the child’s mother (or guardian) in relation to the father is filed with the judicial authority (district court) only on compelling grounds reflected in the Family Code of Ukraine.
• The guardianship and trusteeship authorities together with the prosecutor are present at the trial and check the legality of the deprivation, where they give a reasoned conclusion on the expediency/inexpediency of this action.
• The father, in relation to whom the procedure for deprivation of parental rights is chosen, can:
  orally express his voluntary consent to the deprivation of parental rights by directly participating in the court hearing;
• The court considers the arguments of the applicant-plaintiff, the conclusion of the guardianship authority, takes into account the consent of the father and makes an appropriate decision.

The father cannot file a lawsuit against himself for deprivation of rights, because the plaintiff and the defendant cannot act as the same person at the same time. The plaintiff (or the guardian) of the child can act as plaintiffs, having made this decision independently, or taking into account the desire of the parent (defendant), which is always “supported” by self-removal from the child.

When agreeing to the deprivation of parental rights, the father must know that he is being deprived of rights, not obligations, and by giving his oral or written consent to the deprivation, he will completely lose the right to participate in the upbringing of his son or daughter, but will not be freed from the obligation to support the child!

Moreover, the court decision on deprivation of parental rights simultaneously stipulates the father’s obligation to pay child support.

In other words, deprivation of parental rights is provided for in the legislation with the aim of a kind of protection of the minor from any negative influence of a negligent parent, while for the father himself it contains only disadvantages — both from the moral and ethical and material side.

Denial of paternity by mutual consent at a notary

This form in the family legislation of Ukraine sounds like “Consent to the adoption of a child” and is a written statement, drawn up and necessarily certified in a notary office by mutual consent of the parents.

The father of the child, going to take this important step, must understand that this form of renunciation of parental rights has certain nuances. The Family Code of Ukraine states that parents can give notarized consent to the adoption of a child:

• a specific person;
• without specifying a specific person.

This seemingly simple clarification contains the most important aspect of such agreement.

Attention! In order for the burden of alimony obligations to be completely removed from the parents giving consent to adoption, it is necessary to have and indicate a specific person who is currently going to adopt his child.

• If such a person does not exist at the time of writing the application, then the notarized “Consent to adopt a child without specifying a specific person” makes sense only when next applying to the court with a claim for deprivation of parental rights – then the document is actually equivalent to the “Consent to deprivation of parental rights”. And the father deprived of rights is obliged to pay alimony until a person willing to adopt the child is found.
• If such a person does not appear at all, then the father deprived of parental rights will pay alimony until the child reaches adulthood, if such a document did not exist at all.

Let’s look at this with some specific examples.

example

The parents got divorced, the child stayed with the mother. After some time, the mother remarried. The biological father of the child does not participate in the upbringing, he has distanced himself from his son, while the mother’s new husband takes care of the child, living next to him, wants to become his actual father. – in this situation, it will be in the interests of the child to take a notarized consent of the biological father for the adoption of the child by the mother’s new husband (i.e. indicating a specific person) and, having received consent from the mother’s new husband for his adoption of the child, completely release the ex-husband from paternity and alimony.

example

The parents got divorced, the child remained to live at the mother’s place of residence. The father does not fulfill his obligations to support and raise the child, wants to abandon the child. The mother suggests that the child’s father deprive him of parental rights, the father does not object to deprivation, issues consent to adoption without specifying a specific person (equal to consent to deprivation of parental rights). – In this situation, the court may accept and approve the claim for deprivation of parental rights, however, in this case, the father will retain the obligation to support his son.

In generalizing the form of renunciation of paternity through consent to adoption, it is important to emphasize once again in the most general form:

• if there is a specific person who is going to adopt a child, alimony from the former father is removed;
• if there is no specific person who takes on the burden of fatherhood instead of this father, alimony from the former father is not removed.

It is impossible to designate a fictitious person for adoption or to do so fictitiously, since the candidate for adoption must go through a complex procedure related to establishing his identity, the absence of a criminal record, and the consent of the guardianship and trusteeship authority.

Notarial renunciation of a child by the father (sample consent for adoption)

An application expressing consent to the transfer of parental rights and responsibilities must be made in writing, must be certified by a notary and contain the following information:

• name and address of the court to which the application will be sent for further proceedings;
• full name and address of the applicant;
• personal details (passport);
• full name, date of birth of the child, in relation to which this expression of will is written;
• expression of decision on consent to adoption;
• indication of the reason for this decision;
• agreement with the possibility of further adoption of the child (by a specific person or without specifying a specific person);
• agreement with the impossibility of cancellation of this decision;
• request for consideration of the case in court without the presence of the applicant (if desired);
• statement on clarification of the consequences of this decision;
• signature of the applicant and date of preparation.

Consequences of deprivation of parental rights and consent to adoption

The consequences of renunciation of parental rights to a minor child also depend on the specifics of its registration.

When deprived of parental rights, the father:

• misses the opportunity to participate in the upbringing of the child;
• loses the right to receive maintenance from him and the right to benefits and state assistance;
• is obliged to pay monthly alimony for the maintenance of the child;
• has the right to restore lost rights in court.

If the father agrees to the adoption, he/she:

• misses the opportunity to participate in the upbringing of the child;
• loses the right to receive maintenance from the child and the right to benefits and state assistance related to the child;
• is exempt from paying child support;
• has no right to restore parental rights.

Is it possible to abandon an adopted child after a divorce?

Adoptive parents have exactly the same rights as biological parents, and adopted children are equal to the rights of biological children. Consequently, a family (or one of the parents) can refuse to adopt a child in the same way as they received consent for this – by filing a corresponding claim in court “On the cancellation of the adoption of a minor child.”