How can we help this kid- Declaring a child

latitude19

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May 29, 2011
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Michael, Rosa's nephew of 15, is a good kid. He has not had an easy life by any means. He was abandoned by his mother at birth and has been reared by his grandmother.

Micha's main problem is that he was not declared at birth. His father, who had problems in the past, is now doing well as a commercial fisherman, and is trying to declare him. (He has been trying to declare him for years.) The dilemma is that his mother is not such a nice person. She will not help in declaring Michael. Well, think she will eventually help, but not for free. She has many other children, most likely many of whom are not declared- NOT ONE is living with her. Michael's mom has NEVER come back to see him.

How can Michael's dad declare him without paying a large sum of money?? thanks in advance, tom
 

latitude19

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May 29, 2011
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That's the main problem, I believe. He has no birth records. As it is now, he can't even go to a new school because he has ABSOLUTELY NO DOCUMENTATION. It's unfortunate. I think he has had problems with his education due to this. If I remember correctly, he is behind one year.
 

latitude19

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May 29, 2011
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The problem, C, is that I believe both father AND mother must sign. Micha's mom will not do this. It seems that she is holding out for money. So, the question is, is there a way to get around this; OR, is there some sort of penalty designed for people like his mom that won't sign to FORCE her to sign??

My fiancee Rosa did recently go with Micha's dad to declare him, but could not, as they said the mother needs to sign as well. Here in DR the MOTHER, Rosa told me, is the only person who can declare a child UNLESS the father has the cedula of the mother, and Micha's father cannot get this.

If he was not declared he won't have a birth certificate. The dad needs to make a declaraci?n tard?a (late declaration) at the civil registry office. There are institutions that might be able to help with the process, like CONANI - the National Children and Youth Council.
These are the steps that need to be taken:
?Cu?les son los requisitos una declaraci?n tard?a de nacimiento?
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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I'm thinking he might be able to find a way around this by default. If he was not born in a hospital (has no birth certificate soI presume this is the case, if he was and knows where and when then he should be able to get it) and no attempt to declare him was made then he infact does not exist. So he is becoming a man now, will need cedula to work etc, so he will need to be put into the system. If you go to the civil registry office and ask them what the process is for a child who's mother has died and not registered them, they might have some kind of system where the father can at least become next of kin under relation of being his father, although not documented.
I see no way anything other than what the boy says and the people around him support say can be taken as anything other than the truth. I have no idea if this is viable, but it is the line I'd push for, just bypass the mother, she doesn't exist and if she didn't declare him and he was not even born under a doctor then he could be anyones, the mother is not even the registered mother, so isn't. Anyone he wants to be can be, kind of.
Does that make sense? I reckon they will do whatever is easy just to get him on the system.
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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From what I have heard, this is a common problem in the Dominican Republic. Men father children with women not their wife but these children are not legally heirs of the father and are handicapped all their life with respect to educational and employment opportunities.

Especially unfortunate that a young man who now has the opportunity to be declared is prevented from having his life improved because of the greed of the mother. It would seem there should be some agency in the government that could help in this matter.
 

La Rubia

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Jan 1, 2010
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I'm thinking he might be able to find a way around this by default. If he was not born in a hospital (has no birth certificate soI presume this is the case, if he was and knows where and when then he should be able to get it) and no attempt to declare him was made then he infact does not exist. So he is becoming a man now, will need cedula to work etc, so he will need to be put into the system. If you go to the civil registry office and ask them what the process is for a child who's mother has died and not registered them, they might have some kind of system where the father can at least become next of kin under relation of being his father, although not documented.
I see no way anything other than what the boy says and the people around him support say can be taken as anything other than the truth. I have no idea if this is viable, but it is the line I'd push for, just bypass the mother, she doesn't exist and if she didn't declare him and he was not even born under a doctor then he could be anyones, the mother is not even the registered mother, so isn't. Anyone he wants to be can be, kind of.
Does that make sense? I reckon they will do whatever is easy just to get him on the system.

I would think you'd have to produce a death certificate. I would try the "she can't be found" angle.
 

La Profe_1

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Oct 15, 2003
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Tom, I think you are in Cabarete, right? There is a lawyer in my office in Puerto Plata who helps people needing to get birth certificates, declarations, etc. I doubt that it costs very much since it is a service from CEDAIL. PM me if you want a telephone number. It is best to call since she is not in the office every day.

LP
 

latitude19

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May 29, 2011
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Thanks LP!! Yes- I am in Cabarete. That number would be great to have. This is just the info I was looking for!!! Micha's father did not want to use a lawyer. I think he'll view this differently.

Sent you a PM.

Tom, I think you are in Cabarete, right? There is a lawyer in my office in Puerto Plata who helps people needing to get birth certificates, declarations, etc. I doubt that it costs very much since it is a service from CEDAIL. PM me if you want a telephone number. It is best to call since she is not in the office every day.

LP
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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Really, we got the birth certificate at birth and then had to take that to declare our daughter, maybe we were special.:surprised
As I understand it, what the hospitals give the parents is a form, not a birth certificate (acta de nacimiento). The birth certificate is issued once the child is declared. Things have improved since this 15-year old was born. This article describes new facilities being introduced to prevent parents from leaving the hospital without registering the baby:
UNICEF Dominican Republic - Real lives - "Registering them is the first step that has to be taken once they?re born?
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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The birth confirmation form IS the birth certificate, you can't declare the child without it, pre declaration.
Registering the child as your child is the declaration where the all bells and whistles certificate is authorized with the mother and fathers names and cedulas on and stamped. Up until then all that exists is the doctors signature on the certificate of birth stating when and where the mother gave birth to the child (I can't remember if that was even stamped). We also didn't declare ours until she was about 4 months going on 5 and there was no issue or extra hassle. I think much gets misunderstood between declaration, registering, birth certificates and birth confirmation, it must do as there can't be several different ways to go about this, it must be pretty standard.
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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The birth confirmation form IS the birth certificate, you can't declare the child without it, pre declaration.
Maybe Fabio can confirm this. I think what we're saying is practically the same thing: the birth confirmation form from the hospital is a requisite for declaring the baby at the civil registry, which issues the acta de nacimiento - birth certificate. Here's a similar article from Unicef that describes the process from a different angle: UNICEF Dominican Republic - Real lives - A name and nationality open the door to all other rights
 

Ezequiel

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Jun 4, 2008
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The problem, C, is that I believe both father AND mother must sign. Micha's mom will not do this. It seems that she is holding out for money. So, the question is, is there a way to get around this; OR, is there some sort of penalty designed for people like his mom that won't sign to FORCE her to sign??

My fiancee Rosa did recently go with Micha's dad to declare him, but could not, as they said the mother needs to sign as well. Here in DR the MOTHER, Rosa told me, is the only person who can declare a child UNLESS the father has the cedula of the mother, and Micha's father cannot get this.

This is not true! Only the father can go with the mother "Cedula" and declare the his son. How do I know that? My father went to declare us and our birth certificates were a messed, my mother went to fix it later. My brother declared my nephew just with his wife "Cedula". She couldn't go because she had a C-Section.
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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Maybe Fabio can confirm this. I think what we're saying is practically the same thing: the birth confirmation form from the hospital is a requisite for declaring the baby at the civil registry, which issues the acta de nacimiento - birth certificate. Here's a similar article from Unicef that describes the process from a different angle: UNICEF Dominican Republic - Real lives - A name and nationality open the door to all other rights

Yeh, I think so, just a few technical wordage differences