Baby's on the way: what to plan for?

Baby's on the way: what to plan for?

"I've been living with my partner for many years. We're going to have a child soon and I've heard that it's advisable to make an acknowledgement of paternity and an agreement to obtain joint parental authority, if possible before the birth; is this true?"

Tania, Geneva

If you are not married and you are going to have a child, the child will not have a legal parent-child relationship with the father. To rectify this, you need to make an acknowledgement of paternity, either before or after the birth of the child. Two conditions must be met: the child's mother must be known and there must not already be a paternal filiation link. It should be noted that when the acknowledgement is made before the birth, the child must still be born alive and the mother must not have married another man in the meantime. In addition, this acknowledgement implies that the child will henceforth be included in all eventualities in the father's life (inheritance in the event of death, etc).

Furthermore, it is true that without a filiation link, the father cannot benefit from parental authority. Therefore, if the child's parents are not married, parental authority is vested solely in the mother. However, under article 298a of the Civil Code, parental authority may also be granted to the father. Your information is correct: you must jointly submit an agreement to the guardianship authority that is compatible with the welfare of the child. The judge will determine each parent's contribution to the child's care and the division of maintenance costs. If significant new facts subsequently arise, the supervising guardianship authority has the power to change the allocation of parental authority if the child's welfare so requires. Lastly, the agreement may be filed during the pregnancy, but only if the child has already been recognised; however, ratification of the agreement will not take effect until the child is born.