Fathers Custody of child after mother dies

sallyanne12

If an unmarried mother Of a child dies and the father is from South America but the Mother had been living with the father in her parents home in Ireland since the birth, would the father have automatic custody or how does it work?

julyjane

I think the criteria is the father is a guardian if they live together for 3 years after the birth so it depends on the age of the child. I must look into this myself I've been living with my partner since before we had children but we never married. I think that law was brought in a few years ago for children born after that date so it could be a case that he's automatically a guardian of one child but the other.

seamus

It's complicated. Main details here:
https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/birth_family_relationships/cohabiting_couples/legal_guardianship_and_unmarried_couples.html#l92aa0

Short answer is that assuming the child is more than a year old, the father will have automatic guardianship since they have been living together more than a year.

However, for the avoidance of all doubt they should ensure that the father is named on the child's birth certificate and sign a declaration of joint guardianship.

This would absolutely ensure that in the event of the mother's death, the father wouldn't need to send off any forms or jump through any hoops to establish his right to guardianship.

If the mother died without this in place, her parents could evict the father and make a claim for guardianship of the child, disputing his right to custody.

Dravokivich

The issue with these things, tends to be problematic with separated parents. Where the custodial parent has remarried and upon their death, the child can remain with the step-parent. There had been a case about 7/8 years ago of this before the courts, where the father didn't get custody.

seamus wrote: »

It's complicated. Main details here:
https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/birth_family_relationships/cohabiting_couples/legal_guardianship_and_unmarried_couples.html#l92aa0

Short answer is that assuming the child is more than a year old, the father will have automatic guardianship since they have been living together more than a year.

However, for the avoidance of all doubt they should ensure that the father is named on the child's birth certificate and sign a declaration of joint guardianship.

This would absolutely ensure that in the event of the mother's death, the father wouldn't need to send off any forms or jump through any hoops to establish his right to guardianship.

If the mother died without this in place, her parents could evict the father and make a claim for guardianship of the child, disputing his right to custody.

The mother's parents don't have any overall claim to Guardianship/Custody more than the father. They can't just "dispute" it. They'll have to show a reasonable concern to prevent him from having either. And a lack of access wouldn't be valid concern. Grandparents can apply for that.