moving away rights?

hi there i was just woundring if anyone could tell me about my rights?
after i finish my nurcing i would like to move to australia with mila. im not with milas day and have not been since she was one he sees her every weekend on sat. no one has custody, i feel really bad but i cant stay in wellington my whole life just because of him. do i need to get custody of her before i can move? and what happens if we get shared custody? hes not on the birth cert but he pays child support

Edited by chonni

Exactly what I was gonna say. I have a few friends and family spread around who are stuck in their town or area because of the kids

I know the child support is a lot tougher there & they take more than here. If he gets worried about that he may try & stop you.

ETA...if he pays support to you & not through wins then there probably wont he any problems there.

& if he is not on the birth cert he has no clams I guess, without going to court & paying big $.

Edited by jazzy

Maybe contact the Citizens Advice people to get some advice on the situation??

If he isn't on the birth cert then he isn't legally a guardian unless the court has made him one. He could try and force you to submit to a paternity test so he can get put on the birth cert - but so far the law favours women, and you can't be forced to submit your child to a paternity test.

Basically, you can go do what you like. But the child support will likely stop. Definately have a chat to a family lawyer or citizen advice. But basically if they not on the birth cert you can say he not the father and do what you like.

Better to go down the nice path though if you want your daughter to have a relationship with him? That's up to you - but pointing out that it costs less to fly to oz than most places in NZ might help

Yeah that's the thing, it's not very fair. There is a push to change it by legal and fathers groups so a paternity test can be forced, but so far no luck. Depending on the length of time and involvement he could apply to rights, but really unless a biological link is proven, he would only be entitled to the same rights as possibly a step-parent!

I guess it's not dissimilar to the theory of a woman's body being her own. A woman's child is her own unless she chooses to involve the father. & there are some pretty good reasons for her to be able to retain that control in a number of situations I won't go into for fear of boring even myself! :D

I really don't know how the fact he has paid child support impacts on the situation though. That might give more weight to the fact he is the father, but still, he hasn't been put on birth certificate so he doesn't really have much standing.

Have to say again though, definately don't take my word for it - check with a lawyer that's actually practicing!

kmasonnz wrote: If he isn't on the birth cert then he isn't legally a guardian unless the court has made him one. He could try and force you to submit to a paternity test so he can get put on the birth cert - but so far the law favours women, and you can't be forced to submit your child to a paternity test. Basically, you can go do what you like. But the child support will likely stop. Definately have a chat to a family lawyer or citizen advice. But basically if they not on the birth cert you can say he not the father and do what you like. Better to go down the nice path though if you want your daughter to have a relationship with him? That's up to you - but pointing out that it costs less to fly to oz than most places in NZ might help

actually i think this is incorrect now.
this is the new guardianship laws from www.justice.govt.nz

Parents as guardians
Both parents are usually guardians

Usually, a child's mother and father are joint guardians of the child. They are often referred to as the child's natural guardians.

However, while a child's mother is automatically a guardian, the child's father is a guardian only if:

he was married to or in a civil union with the child's mother at any time from when the child was conceived until it was born

the child was conceived before 1 July 2005 and he was living with the child's mother when the child was born

the child was conceived on or after 1 July 2005 and he was living with the child's mother at any time between conception and the birth, or
on or after 1 July 2005 he and the mother jointly notified the birth and the father appears on the birth certificate. If the birth was not jointly notified but the father was added to the certificate between 1 July 2005 and 25 January 2009 the father is a guardian if:

the mother requested the father be added at the time the birth was notified, and produced a notice signed by the father acknowledging paternity and consenting to being added; or

if the father requested to be added after the birth was notified and the mother confirmed he was the father.

the Family Court has appointed or declared the father a guardian.


Edited by Bizzy

yeah bizzy those are the rules... but when you look into the case law basically it will come down to whether he is the father... ummm... not explaining it well..

If he IS the father, then he can get guardianship status if those rules apply. BUT the test to prove he is the father (being a paternity test) can't be forced on a mother or child at the moment. Does that make more sense?

So all she has to do is say no to a paternity test, he can't prove he is the father, and therefore he doesn't get guardianship or rights unless he applies to the court ant the court awards him rights. The court still cannot force her to submit to a paternity test.

But I totally agree with what you said - the talking and sorting it out way far better than just up and running, you still have to explain to your daughter at some point, and if he is a good father then you would want him to stay involved right?

Agreed. Fathers get such a raw deal, it really annoys me. There are so many good fathers out there who don't get access to their children because the mother denies it out of spite.

It would be a shame to move away and deprive them both of the chance to have a relationship tbh.

I'm sure he could fight it if he wanted to as others have said - he sees her regularly and pays support.

If someone tried to take my child to Aussie i would fight it too!