Reported Case;
Team Leader Partner Gemma Thew and Family Law Executive Abi Woollaston recently instructed Emma Spruce from 4PB on an interesting case regarding an application for a declaration of parentage, representing the Applicant.
The Respondents were not present and not represented.
Background to the case
The Applicant was a male, aged 65, who upon exploring his family tree found a missing piece and wanted to clarify his lineage. The unusual twist of this case was that the application was for his deceased mother, as her father, the Applicant’s maternal grandfather, was not named on her birth certificate. Both the applicant’s mother, and his maternal grandmother, were deceased. It was understood that the Applicant’s grandfather was Irish, and the Applicant also wished to obtain an Irish passport to ease his travel through Europe as part of his job.
The Applicant understood that his maternal grandfather was Irish, and he and the maternal grandmother had conceived the Applicant’s mother out of wedlock in 1916. In the judgment, the Judge acknowledged that social attitudes at the time were such that this would have been problematic. Evidence from the Applicant’s cousin explained that the maternal grandfather was married to someone else at the time of conception. As such, the father was not named on the birth certificate.
The maternal grandparents did eventually marry, but the birth certificate was never amended.
The Application
The Applicant sought a declaration of parentage on behalf of his mother which would demonstrate his Irish lineage and enable him to get an Irish passport.
The client was advised that he could submit an application under Section 55(a) of the Family Law Act 1986, as both his mother, and the maternal grandparents, were domiciled in England and Wales at the times of their deaths.
However, there were some obstacles. Firstly, there may have been a question over whether the client had “sufficient personal interest” for the application to be determined. It was unlikely that there would be anyone else affected or disadvantaged by the declaration being awarded, however this was not certain.
A great deal of research was carried out to investigate whether the maternal grandfather’s estate had provided for his daughter, however this was unfruitful.
Finally, there is very little case law available to understand how such a case might play out.
Evidence
At the First Directions Hearing, the Judge considered written evidence from the Applicant, and from the Applicant’s cousin. The witness explained in her statement her understanding of the lineage, and that she had been told by the Applicant’s mother directly about what she understood her parentage to be and that her father was Irish.
Judgment
The case was concluded at the first hearing, with the Judge finding no reason to deny the application. She found that the Applicant had sufficient personal interest for the application, that the court had jurisdiction, and that no other person needed to be notified of the application.
