{"id":2863,"date":"2026-05-29T03:09:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T00:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svaroglaw.com\/simejne-pravo\/vyznannya-batkivstva\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T14:13:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T11:13:29","slug":"vyznannya-batkivstva","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/svaroglaw.com\/en\/simejne-pravo\/vyznannya-batkivstva\/","title":{"rendered":"Acknowledgement of paternity \/ termination of parental rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Establishing paternity and removing parental rights are opposite in substance but are judged by the same test: the court decides in the child\u2019s interests and looks at documents, not at the parties\u2019 emotions.<\/p>\n

Removing parental rights remains a measure of last resort. Courts apply it reluctantly, and \u201che takes no part in raising the child\u201d is not a ground in itself: you have to prove systematic, culpable failure to perform parental duties. Establishing paternity, by contrast, has strong prospects: forensic genetic testing gives an almost unambiguous answer, and a respondent who avoids it damages his own case.<\/p>\n

<\/svg>+38 095 554-54-24<\/span><\/a>legal consultation<\/span><\/div>\n

Establishing paternity through the courts<\/h2>\n

If the parents were not married and the father did not acknowledge the child voluntarily, paternity is established by the court Art. 128 FC<\/span>.<\/p>\n

A claim may be brought by the mother, a guardian or custodian, a person who supports and raises the child, the child themselves once they reach adulthood, or a man who believes he is the father.<\/p>\n

Any information confirming the child\u2019s origin counts as evidence: living together, correspondence, photographs, witness testimony, contributions to the child\u2019s upkeep. Forensic genetic (DNA) testing is almost always decisive.<\/p>\n

The key point: if the respondent avoids testing, the court may treat paternity as established Art. 109(1) CPC<\/span>. Most successful cases are built on this, because the \u201cI simply will not go\u201d position leads to defeat.<\/p><\/blockquote>

<\/svg>Establishing paternity<\/span>

No limitation period applies: a claim can be brought at any time before the child reaches adulthood, and by the child themselves afterwards.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/svg>Contesting paternity<\/span>

A one-year period runs from the day the person learned, or could have learned, that they are not the child\u2019s father Art. 129 FC<\/span> \u2014 and this is the deadline most often missed.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

Establishing paternity gives the child the right to maintenance, to inherit on intestacy and to a survivor\u2019s pension, and gives the father the duty to take part in the child\u2019s upbringing. Maintenance is recovered from the date the claim is filed Art. 191(1) FC<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"Establishing<\/a><\/p>\n

Removal of parental rights: the grounds<\/h2>\n

The list in Art. 164 of the Family Code is exhaustive; there are no other grounds:<\/p>\n