RG24P0700 - [2025] EWHC 1876 (Fam)

The respondent has filed two witness statements. She sets out a detailed chronology of the fertility attempts until she became pregnant. She states she was emotional and tired when the issue of registering D’s father on the birth certificate came up and that the applicant was desperate to be named as the father, so she gave in. She states she did not understand that registering the applicant as the father on D’s birth certificate would give him parental responsibility over their child. She states that she does not seek to remove the applicant’s parental responsibility as the applicant has tried to be a father to D.

In her second statement she expressed her disappointment with the ISW report and her concern that her comments have been dismissed. She raised concerns about the applicant’s mental health. She raised serious issues about his sexual boundaries with D. She felt the ISW was not impartial. She explains the difficulty with developing contact. She explains why she is opposed to D spending Friday nights with the applicant. She proposes that D spend Wednesday nights and every other Saturday with the applicant. She sets out holiday contact and makes the distinction between pre-school and after September 2026 when D will begin his formal schooling. She argues why a lives with order should be made that D lives with her only and that a spend times with order is sufficient for the applicant. She says that is the reality of the situation.