German father strikes a blow for single dads
Dusty
04/12/09 07:31 CET
An unmarried German man has struck a blow for fatherhood, winning a landmark
legal decision on his right to see his daughter. The European Court of Human
Rights ruled in favour of Horst Zaunegger, whose former partner refused him
access to their teenage daughter when the couple split up and she moved
away.
Under current German law, unmarried fathers can be refused access by the
mother. Zaunegger said: "For me this is clearly a violation of human rights
because, as an unmarried father, I'm being treated as a second-class parent.
There is no justification for that. I'm a responsible father, I've proved
this but I have no access to joint custody." Single German fathers must pay
child support, but can make no decisions and can be prevented from seeing
their children. Child custody is generally split between married couples.
The law has been under increasing pressure, and in Berlin the justice
minister called for a fundamental review of the rights of unmarried fathers.
Figures from 2008 show that every third German child is born out of wedlock.
Copyright � 2009 euro news
Chris
"Dusty" <No....@home.org> wrote in message
news:hfgaq4$n7b$03$1...@news.t-online.com...
Probably because the government people have decayed the significance of
legal "marriage" to the point that it is meaningless. In fact, being married
for a man amounts to him forfeiting his assets, automatically making him the
father of any bastard children of the woman, and jeopardizing his very
freedom! Gee, where's the nearest courthouse so I TOO can get
"married"........
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Nelson
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I am an american citizen and I also have similiar problems with the
German Government:
1) I was never married to a German woman and she had a child of mine.
2) I had paid child support for 11 Years with no rights to that child,
such as my last name, etc. I am just the Bank....
3) The mother would not let the child fly alone to visit me in the
USA.
To make it worst: (Since I was trying to win her over to let my son
fly to the states)
1) She trick me in signing a paternity letter on another child she had
with another man.
2) The letter was in German and she told me it was to help her get
more support from the Government.
3) She took me to a German court and they rule against me and told me,
that I would have to pay child support on the 2nd child.
4) The court clearly told me, that I was to trusting in signing such a
letter and I had 2 years to change my mind. But how would I know I
had 2 years to change my mind, when I did not even know that I sign a
paternity letter in a language that is not English.
Today I find myself still paying child support for my son with no
rights. I also find myself paying for lawyer her in the states and in
germany to reverse the illegal paternity in Germany on the other
child. If anyone had any experience on this matter or a really good
lawyer in Germany please pass me a line.
Thanks,
Nelson