Maintenance - Access - Custody and Guardianship
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Click here to complete The District Court Statement of Means Regarding Maintenance
Click here to complete The District Court Statement of Arrangement Regarding Access
Maintenance
Maintenance is financial support (money) paid by a person for the benefit of a dependent spouse/civil partner and/or dependent children. Spouses/civil partners are required to maintain each other according to their means. Parents, whether married or not, are responsible for the maintenance of their dependent children.
Both parents have a responsibility to support their children financially. This applies to all parents, whether married, separated, living together or if they have never lived together. The parent with custody of the children has to take care of them and look after their day-to-day needs. The parent who does not have custody usually has to pay money to the parent with custody. This is to help cover the costs of taking care of the children.
A dependent child is a child under eighteen years of age, or a child under 23 who is in full time education, or a child of any age who is dependent on its parents due to disability.
The amount Maintenance that the Court can award depends on the Court that you apply to.
When the court makes a maintenance order it will usually specify:
Access
Access is contact between a child and its parent or other relative. It can be physical in the sense of the child seeing their parent or it can be a form of electronic communication. It can also mean having the right to visit and spend time with a child and to take them out for an agreed length of time.
Where the parents cannot agree informal arrangement, either parent can apply to court to decide which parent will have custody of the child and what access the other parent will have. An unmarried father can apply for access whether or not he is a guardian. He can do this even if his name is not on the the child's birth certificate, or where his application for joint guardianship has been refused.
The Children Act, 1997 gives any person related to the child by blood or by adoption, such as grandparents, the right to apply to the District Court for permission for access. This could also apply to a partner or spouse of the child's mother or father who acted (in loco parentis). Parents or relatives of a child in the care of the Health Service Executive can also apply for access.
A relative granted permission to apply for access must then apply for access. Being granted leave to apply for access does not mean that access has been granted.
Custody
Custody is the right of a parent to exercise physical care and control in respect of the upbringing of his or her child on a day-to-day basis. The married parents of a child are automatically joint guardians and custodians of their child.
Where married parents have separated or divorced, they can decide between themselves on custody arrangements for their children. If they cannot agree, they must apply to the court for a final decision.
Where children are born outside of marriage the mother has an automatic right to custody. A father who is not married to the mother of his child can apply to the court for custody in the absence of agreement. It is not necessary for a father to have guardianship rights before he applies for custody. If an unmarried mother does not want custody of the child and intends to place or has already placed the child for adoption, the unmarried father may still apply for custody.
Automatic guardianship
If a child is born outside of marriage, the mother is the sole guardian. The position of the unmarried father of the child is not so certain. An unmarried father will automatically be a guardian if he has lived with the child's mother for 12 consecutive months after 18 January 2016, including at least 3 months with the mother and child following the child's birth.
Guardianship by agreement
If the mother agrees, the father can become a joint guardian if both parents sign a statutory declaration.
This declaration states the names of the parents of the child, that they are unmarried and that they agree that the father should be appointed as a joint-guardian. The declaration also states that the parents have agreed arrangements regarding custody of and access to the child. If there is more than one child, a separate statutory declaration should be made for each.
Guardianship through the courts
Unmarried fathers
If the mother does not agree to sign the statutory declaration or agree that the father be appointed as joint guardian, the father must apply to the court to be appointed as a joint-guardian. You do not require legal representation to do this, you can make the application on your own behalf. Apply directly to the District Court and contact the clerk of the court to institute proceedings. (This is possible, irrespective of whether your name is on the child's birth certificate or not). While the mother's views are taken into account, the fact that she does not consent to the guardianship application does not automatically mean that the court will refuse the order sought by the father. Instead, the court will decide what is in the best interest of the child.
In situations where the father has been appointed joint guardian of a child, then his consent is required for certain things relating to the child's general welfare and other items. (For example, for passport applications for the child and to take the child out of the country).
Other people
As well as fathers, certain other people may apply to the court for guardianship:
If the court appoints a guardian to a child where one or both parents are alive, the guardian will not generally have the right to make certain major decisions about the child unless that right is expressly granted by the court.
Removal of guardianship rights
Fathers and others who have been appointed joint guardians by a court or by statutory declaration can be removed from their position if the court is satisfied it is in the child's best interest. The only way a mother can give up her guardianship rights in Ireland, is if the child is placed for adoption.
Click here to complete The District Court Statement of Means Regarding Maintenance
Click here to complete The District Court Statement of Arrangement Regarding Access
Maintenance
Maintenance is financial support (money) paid by a person for the benefit of a dependent spouse/civil partner and/or dependent children. Spouses/civil partners are required to maintain each other according to their means. Parents, whether married or not, are responsible for the maintenance of their dependent children.
Both parents have a responsibility to support their children financially. This applies to all parents, whether married, separated, living together or if they have never lived together. The parent with custody of the children has to take care of them and look after their day-to-day needs. The parent who does not have custody usually has to pay money to the parent with custody. This is to help cover the costs of taking care of the children.
A dependent child is a child under eighteen years of age, or a child under 23 who is in full time education, or a child of any age who is dependent on its parents due to disability.
The amount Maintenance that the Court can award depends on the Court that you apply to.
- There is no limit on the amount of maintenance payable which is agreed by informal arrangements made outside of the court.
- The maximum that the District Court can order for maintenance of a child is €150 per week from either parent.
- The maximum that the District Court can order a spouse/civil partner to pay for the other spouse is €500 per week.
- A parent can seek a contribution from the other parent towards expenses related to the birth of a child, or funeral expenses if a dependent child dies.
- If greater amounts are sought then it is necessary to apply to the Circuit Court or the High Court
When the court makes a maintenance order it will usually specify:
- The full amount of the maintenance to be paid and how much is to be paid for the spouse/civil partner and how much for each child
- The frequency of payments - weekly, fortnightly or monthly
- The date on which the first payment is to be made
- To whom payments are to be made
Access
Access is contact between a child and its parent or other relative. It can be physical in the sense of the child seeing their parent or it can be a form of electronic communication. It can also mean having the right to visit and spend time with a child and to take them out for an agreed length of time.
Where the parents cannot agree informal arrangement, either parent can apply to court to decide which parent will have custody of the child and what access the other parent will have. An unmarried father can apply for access whether or not he is a guardian. He can do this even if his name is not on the the child's birth certificate, or where his application for joint guardianship has been refused.
The Children Act, 1997 gives any person related to the child by blood or by adoption, such as grandparents, the right to apply to the District Court for permission for access. This could also apply to a partner or spouse of the child's mother or father who acted (in loco parentis). Parents or relatives of a child in the care of the Health Service Executive can also apply for access.
A relative granted permission to apply for access must then apply for access. Being granted leave to apply for access does not mean that access has been granted.
Custody
Custody is the right of a parent to exercise physical care and control in respect of the upbringing of his or her child on a day-to-day basis. The married parents of a child are automatically joint guardians and custodians of their child.
Where married parents have separated or divorced, they can decide between themselves on custody arrangements for their children. If they cannot agree, they must apply to the court for a final decision.
Where children are born outside of marriage the mother has an automatic right to custody. A father who is not married to the mother of his child can apply to the court for custody in the absence of agreement. It is not necessary for a father to have guardianship rights before he applies for custody. If an unmarried mother does not want custody of the child and intends to place or has already placed the child for adoption, the unmarried father may still apply for custody.
Automatic guardianship
If a child is born outside of marriage, the mother is the sole guardian. The position of the unmarried father of the child is not so certain. An unmarried father will automatically be a guardian if he has lived with the child's mother for 12 consecutive months after 18 January 2016, including at least 3 months with the mother and child following the child's birth.
Guardianship by agreement
If the mother agrees, the father can become a joint guardian if both parents sign a statutory declaration.
This declaration states the names of the parents of the child, that they are unmarried and that they agree that the father should be appointed as a joint-guardian. The declaration also states that the parents have agreed arrangements regarding custody of and access to the child. If there is more than one child, a separate statutory declaration should be made for each.
Guardianship through the courts
Unmarried fathers
If the mother does not agree to sign the statutory declaration or agree that the father be appointed as joint guardian, the father must apply to the court to be appointed as a joint-guardian. You do not require legal representation to do this, you can make the application on your own behalf. Apply directly to the District Court and contact the clerk of the court to institute proceedings. (This is possible, irrespective of whether your name is on the child's birth certificate or not). While the mother's views are taken into account, the fact that she does not consent to the guardianship application does not automatically mean that the court will refuse the order sought by the father. Instead, the court will decide what is in the best interest of the child.
In situations where the father has been appointed joint guardian of a child, then his consent is required for certain things relating to the child's general welfare and other items. (For example, for passport applications for the child and to take the child out of the country).
Other people
As well as fathers, certain other people may apply to the court for guardianship:
- A step-parent, a civil partner or a person who has cohabited with a parent for not less than 3 years may apply to the court to become a guardian where they have co-parented the child for more than 2 years.
- A person who has provided for the child’s day-to-day care for a continuous period of more than a year may apply for guardianship if the child has no parent or guardian who is willing or able to exercise the rights and responsibilities of guardianship.
If the court appoints a guardian to a child where one or both parents are alive, the guardian will not generally have the right to make certain major decisions about the child unless that right is expressly granted by the court.
Removal of guardianship rights
Fathers and others who have been appointed joint guardians by a court or by statutory declaration can be removed from their position if the court is satisfied it is in the child's best interest. The only way a mother can give up her guardianship rights in Ireland, is if the child is placed for adoption.