Re H (Paternity: Blood Test) [1996] 2 F.L.R 65
This was a court of appeal case about paternity in which a married couple could not agree on whether or not to have a blood test to establish the paternity of a child. The couple had been going through marital difficulties and the mother had an affair with a man ten years her junior, for a period between November 1993 and July 1994. She became pregnant in March 1994.
The mother intended to leave her husband but changed her mind and decided to reconcile her marriage. The intention was to raise the child as hers and her husbands but the man with whom she had an affair thought he was the child’s father, and wanted contact and legal parental responsibility for the child. Prior to the affair the husband had undergone a vasectomy operation but had not subsequently been tested to find out whether it had been successful. He and his wife, the mother of the child, had been engaging in sexual intercourse for some time and it had resulted in no conception. The mother refused to consent to blood tests for herself and her child. (Nowadays the paternity test would normally be conducted by inner cheek swab, not blood test.)
Judgment
The court held that it should permit a blood test of a child unless there was evidence to show that the blood test would not be in the interests of that child. Welfare considerations relating to that child were relevant, but not the overriding factor in the decision making process.
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Try our Child Support Rights Checker free, here on this site →The Right to Family Life
The Human Rights Act 1998 brought into law the European Convention on Human Rights of which Article 8, gives a right to respect for private and family life. This means that people have a right to keep private matters in their home and to do with private correspondence. There is an exception to this, in that public authorities can become involved ‘in accordance with the law’ in relation to matters of national security, public safety, to prevent crime and disorder, in the interests of the economic wellbeing of the country, to protect health or morals, or in relation to the rights and freedoms of others. It is this last element “the rights and freedoms of others” and to a lesser extent the provision relating to health and morals, which most greatly impacts on circumstances relating to children and child support. The following case relates to number of Human Rights points.
House of Lords in Secretary of State for Work & Pensions v M (2006)
This mother in this case had two children by her former husband from whom she was divorced. The children spent most of the week with their father, so she was the non-resident parent for child support purposes. The claim for child support related to a period between 2001 and 2002 so the rules relating to calculation for that period applied. These rules calculated that the income and outgoings of the mother’s heterosexual partner could be taken into consideration when calculating the amount of maintenance that she should pay towards her children. However, the mother was in a lesbian relationship, which meant that she was required to pay more than if she had been in a heterosexual relationship.
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Judgment
The mother claimed that she was entitled to treat her same-sex partner as a member of her family. Although she succeeded initially in her appeal the case went to the House of Lords who held that the mother’s claim was not an Article 8 case in that she was not claiming that she was being deprived access to her children, or indeed being denied contact with them at the home she shared with her same-sex partner. The court held that her claim was not a valid one and that the CSA under the 1991 Act was able to treat same-sex couples as either two individuals or one family unit.
Paternity and the CSA
Other high-profile cases aren't so significant in terms of the law but still capture media attention due to the perceived injustices of the child maintenance system. A man made the headlines in the UK in 2007 when he donated his sperm to a lesbian couple who then had a child together. He was a friend of the couple and gave his sperm so that they didn’t have to go through a clinic. Because he was the legal father the Child Support Agency was pursuing him for maintenance for the child.
At the the time I wasn’t on the scene and my husband would pay his ex directly £900 per month as would only have them every other weekend due to working so much. Moving forward. It was decided that my husband and his ex would share custody 50/50, in fact we have the children more, and a verbal agreement was arranged between the two of them that no more money was to be paid to her.
A year later the ex moved from her parents into her own property, we still have 50/50 at this stage, and the ex calls the cms and states that she has had no money from my husband for a year.
Cms have then through my husbands work taken monthly payments of of 2k a month direct from his wages, leaving us financially buggered.
Just recently the cms have stated that although we have them half the time the ex is claiming that she does all the daily care! This is not the case at all and when we have the, we deal with daily care and when she has them she deals with the daily care. How can cma justify taking so much money, when she should not get anything at all.
We have been fighting with the cms for months and months and they are completely useless. We have been, more so my husband has been treated so badly.
He pays for school dinners bus fares mobile phone contracts , gives them money, we did take them on holiday twice a year, this has stopped because we no longer can afford it and the sad thing is the kids are missing out as they don’t go away with their mum.
I get that some women, including my friends who are in a situation with ex partners and they don’t get anything, this is awful and dads should step up, but we feel so persecuted for making good life decisions, working hard, so why should someone who chooses to do limited hours working and expect my husband to top up her income be right all because she chose not to manage money in the past correctly.
Dads too are being treated unfairly, if anyone has had similar experiences please advise… we are at our wits end…
The problem now is that Dad is saying that he will not pay a penny more for the care and maintenance of the children. For instance, he is saying that he will not pay for school lunches on the days that the children are with him.
The question is: What is he supposed to provide by way of care for his children when they are with him? My daughter’s view is that, in the morning, he should look after the children until they are in school (paying for Breakfast Club, if necessary), provide lunch (or pay for school lunches), look after the children after school finishes (or pay for After-School Club, if necessary). If CMS reduced the CM due by £213 per month, they must expect Dad to have some costs associated with caring for his children for 3 nights (3 ½ days) per week that they are with him. Where are the rules, please?
I have just received Threatening Letters from the Child Maintenance Service that the Ex Husband has Applied - And I am to Pay £500 per month with immediate effect as a Direct Payment ...
My Child has been in a Hospital for the Past (4) Four Years - Paid for by NHS England - Yet as the Alleged PWC receives the Child Benefit I have Paid over £12,000 - In CSA - This is Unfair - and Unreasonable - My Son is 18 and Not in Full Time Education - Child Benefit should cease and Child Maintenance- Should Not Apply due to these Circumstances and Not in the Care of the PWC... Who only has to buy shower gel and toothpaste -
CSA was an Open Cheque Book for the PWC - Now the CMS is even worse - Government Agencies have denied me Any Relationship with my children- .
I want to be Treated Fairly and Equally -
I have been getting the maximum from the csa for the past 7 years. I live in a couple I'll property and he help with my rent.
I recently found put that the father of my child earns over 500k a year.
We were together for a year but he was just playing me the whole time. I want to go to court to secure a future for my son or increase payments so we can live a bit better but I am worried he is going to make me look like a hold digger or a one night stand? I actually made the same grades as him but could never pursue my career because I was a full time mum.
I contacted her and asked her to come back home, but she did not want to. The boy's mother called social services wanting to know who would be paying for her keep. In Scotland a 16 year old is deemed an adult, and thus the mother was told that it is an agreement that wold be made between them ( my daughter and her boyfriend's mother)
A few days later, both my husband and I received separate demands from Child Maintenance services which was supposedly applied by my daughter.
Now I thought that a parent claims maintenance from another parent for the upkeep of their child if the said parents have split up. My husband and I are still very much together.
I would like some clarification please
my son has done everything for him since the day he was born and takes him everywhere with him, will she be able to stop my son from keeping there little boy as he has always done it all.
How is the law on that and is there anything he can do to protect himself and his son from being separated.
Mallamo v Mallamo and Centanni v Centanni
I am in the UK for a few weeks and would like to know how I can get maintenance as my daughter's schooling had cost more than half my wages last year. My ex has signed a 'no-objection' letter to take our daughter abroad. This has been attested by a solicitor.
Am I able to apply as we live abroad? I appreciate your quick response as time is short.
"they can apply for a foreign maintenance order which will be enforceable against the non-resident parent who is living in the UK."
Where can I apply for this in South Africa?
Kindly assist.
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