This Bill has been considered as one introducing the most radical changes in family law legislation in recent years. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to reflect the social realities of family life in the 21st century. It is hoped to modernise the law regarding the parental rights of children living in diverse family forms.
Of interest are the following proposals:-
- to extend automatic guardianship to non-marital fathers who have lived with the child’s mother for at least 12 months, including 3 months following the child’s birth;
- to enable civil partnered or cohabiting couples to be eligible jointly to adopt a child, enable members of the extended family to apply for access to the child;
- to revise maintenance payments to ensure no disadvantage to a child born outside the married family;
- to put in place a series of provisions to make parenting work and to have penalties for parents who refuse to comply with access and maintenance orders;
- to establish that the best interests of the child are paramount in decisions on custody, access and guardianship.
- to enable civil partnered or cohabiting couples to be eligible jointly to adopt a child, enable members of the extended family to apply for access to the child;
- to revise maintenance payments to ensure no disadvantage to a child born outside the married family;
- to put in place a series of provisions to make parenting work and to have penalties for parents who refuse to comply with access and maintenance orders;
- to establish that the best interests of the child are paramount in decisions on custody, access and guardianship.
Although no date is set for the bill to be enacted we are hopeful that it will be within the next 3 to 4 months. For the most part, we warmly welcome the proposals and look forward to seeing how it will be interpreted by our courts.
I will keep you updated on any developments but in the meantime please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries at laura[at]brophysolcitors.ie
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