Paternal filiation is not automatic when the parents are not married. To establish the bond of filiation with regard to him, the father must make an acknowledgment of paternity. This can be done at the time of the birth declaration, before or after the birth of the child.

The mother does not need to take any steps to recognize her child: maternal filiation is automatically established in the birth certificate, at the time of declaration. When the parents are married, paternal filiation is also automatic: the husband is presumed to be the father of the child and filiation is automatically established with regard to him at the time of the declaration of birth. On the other hand, paternal filiation is not automatic when the parents are in a civil partnership or when they live in cohabitation: the father must make an acknowledgment of paternity.

The unmarried father can recognize the child either after the birth or before: this is called early recognition. Paternal recognition is an optional and voluntary legal act. Beyond its symbolic aspect, this process makes it possible to establish filiation: an irrevocable legal bond then unites the father and his child.

The recognition of paternity establishes the bond of filiation between the father and the child. This legal link implies several consequences.

Parental authority

The father exercises parental authority (1) over his child, jointly with the mother. As such, he shares with the mother the missions of protection, maintenance, education and administration of the child’s property until his majority. Thus, in the event of the mother’s absence – childbirth under X or death – the child is under the legal responsibility of his father: he is not the subject of a procedure of placing under guardianship.

Name

The child can bear the name of his father. As a reminder, parents can choose to give their children the surname of the father, that of the mother or both contiguous, provided that filiation is established with regard to both parents. Otherwise, the child bears the name of the only parent who recognized him.

Successions

The child can inherit from his father. When the parent dies, the child receives part of his estate. To benefit from it, the deceased parent must have previously recognized it.

Alimony

If the parents separate, the father has rights – custody rights for example – and obligations. In particular, he must pay alimony for his child.

The father can recognize the child before or after birth. The early recognition of paternity is of major interest: if the father dies before birth, the child enjoys all the prerogatives resulting from the establishment of the bond of filiation – in terms of name and inheritance in particular. On a practical level, early recognition is also advantageous if the father is absent at the time of childbirth: he does not need to go in person to the town hall for the birth declaration.

To date, there is no online early recognition procedure. To recognize a child before birth, the future dad goes to the civil status service of the town hall of his choice, with an identity document. The registrar immediately draws up the act of recognition, a copy of which must be presented at the time of the birth declaration for registration of the father as such on the child’s birth certificate.

The mother-to-be can accompany her spouse to carry out an early joint recognition.

Please note, only one paternal filiation link can be established with regard to a child: within a homosexual couple, the father’s spouse cannot take steps to recognize paternity in advance.

The father can recognize the unborn child whenever he wants during the period of pregnancy. As a rule, early recognition is carried out after the declaration of pregnancy.

The act of recognition includes the surname, first name, date and place of birth as well as the address of the author of the declaration. It is signed by the parent – by both parents in the event of a joint declaration – before the registrar.

The act of recognition is entered in the civil status registers, with mention of the date.