Sole custody of illegitimate child

Hi I hope you can shed some light into my problem, I had a daughter when I was 18 and on her birth certificate her father's name wasn't written down, he acknowledged her birth when she was 3 y/o. Her biological father and I were never married and never lived together, we broke up eventually, since birth it was initially my parents who supported my daughter then myself when I graduated from college. He wasn't a big part in my daughters' life his side, unbelievably treated my daughter very unfairly.

I moved to the UK in 2009 and my daughter stayed with my parents, while I was away his mother changed my daughters' last name without my consent so my daughter ended up changing her school records and used his surname.

My concern is that now I want to bring my daughter to Ireland to live with me and my husband permanently, he signed a notarized letter back in 2014 giving me sole custody, the Irish consulate wants a recent one, now he refuses to sign it even with my daughter begging him to do so he wouldn't budge. Do I have any say in this? My daughter is now 16, I supported her all her life, I have a stable job and family life and we want to give my daughter a better future and for her to live with us here with her other siblings. What steps should I take and how long is the process of getting a child custody court order?


I hope you can help me with this.


Thank you.

you do not need any consent from the father of the child since she is illegitimate. the father cannot do anything to stop you from taking your child to Ireland. you can check with Irish consulate if this document is still required since as per Philippine law, the mother has sole custody of illegitimate children.

bubsmum wrote:Hi I hope you can shed some light into my problem, I had a daughter when I was 18 and on her birth certificate her father's name wasn't written down, he acknowledged her birth when she was 3 y/o. Her biological father and I were never married and never lived together, we broke up eventually, since birth it was initially my parents who supported my daughter then myself when I graduated from college. He wasn't a big part in my daughters' life his side, unbelievably treated my daughter very unfairly.

I moved to the UK in 2009 and my daughter stayed with my parents, while I was away his mother changed my daughters' last name without my consent so my daughter ended up changing her school records and used his surname.

My concern is that now I want to bring my daughter to Ireland to live with me and my husband permanently, he signed a notarized letter back in 2014 giving me sole custody, the Irish consulate wants a recent one, now he refuses to sign it even with my daughter begging him to do so he wouldn't budge. Do I have any say in this? My daughter is now 16, I supported her all her life, I have a stable job and family life and we want to give my daughter a better future and for her to live with us here with her other siblings. What steps should I take and how long is the process of getting a child custody court order?


I hope you can help me with this.


Thank you.

Can't you seek help from the embassy there en consulta? I mean, you could ask the help of the Embassy to explain that under Philippine law, the mother has sole custody of her illegitimate child?

Your husband is a British subject, right? You might want to ask the help of a barrister with the adoption of your child through inter-country adoption.