Is the father of your baby denying paternity?
Yes

How can I compel him to take a paternity test?
In order to compel the alleged father of your baby to take a paternity test you need to make an application to a Family Tribunal.

Can anyone make an application at the Family Tribunal if I am afraid to do it myself?
Yes. The following people can make the application at the Family Tribunal:

• Your child
• The guardian of the child
• A probation officer
• A social welfare officer
• Or any other interest person

Is there a time limit to make an application for paternity to the Family Tribunal?
The application to the Family Tribunal may be made in the following circumstances:

• Before the child is born
• Within three years after the death of the father of the child
• Before the child is eighteen years of age or after the child has attained that age with special leave of the Family Tribunal

What if the application is not made in the circumstances mentioned above?
The time limit is not absolute. It can be extended on application to the Family Tribunal if the circumstances warrant it.

What does the Family Tribunal take into consideration as evidence of paternity?

• You can provide the birth certificate of the child which bears the name of the father. However, he shall be entitled to challenge the entry made on the birth certificate.
• Performance of customary ceremony of the father of the child
• Refusal to submit to a medical test
• Public acknowledgement of the parentage
• Any other matter that the Family Tribunal may consider relevant

What happens once the Family Tribunal orders the alleged parent to submit to a medical test?
The Family Tribunal may order the father of the child or any other person legally liable to maintain the child. The order is called a maintenance order. This means the father is under the duty to supply the necessaries of health, life, education and reasonable shelter for the child.

Which people can apply for the maintenance order?
The following people who have custody of the child may apply to a Family Tribunal for a maintenance order for the child:

• A parent of the child;
• The guardian of the child; or
• Any other person;
• The child by his next friend;
• A social welfare officer; or
• The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice

What is the Family Tribunal going to take into consideration when making a maintenance order?
The Family Tribunal will take consider the following when making a maintenance order:

• The income and wealth of both parents of the child or of the person legally liable to maintain the child;
• Any impairment of earning capacity of the person with duty to maintain the child;
• The financial responsibility of the person with respect to the maintenance of other children;
• The cost of living in the area where the child is resident;
• Any other matter which the Family Tribunal considers relevant

Can I ask for maintenance as the mother of the child?
Yes. It also does not matter if you are married to your child’s father. What is important is that the child’s father has been identified.

What is the Family Tribunal likely to order as maintenance as the mother of the child?
The maintenance includes:

• Medical expenses for the duration of her pregnancy, deliver or death of the child;
• A periodic allowance for the maintenance of the mother during her period of pregnancy and for further period of nine months after the delivery of the child; and
• The payment of a reasonable sum to be determined by the Family Tribunal for the continued education(of the mother) if she is a child herself

What is the duration of the maintenance order?
The maintenance order expires when your child reaches the age of eighteen years or dies before that age.

Can the maintenance order be continued after my child reaches the age of eighteen years?
Yes, if your child is engaged in a course of continuing education or training.

What happens if the father of the child stops paying the maintenance order?
If the father defaults in the payments for a period of three months or more, you may make an application to the Tribunal to have his income attached of the arrears due.