Legal Information/ Legal Briefs
Legal Briefs
Until 2010, these legal briefs provide examples of judgments pertaining to everyday situations. Beginning in 2012, they deal with various topics of general interest, such as rental issues, family law, human rights, civil liability, insurance, dealings between spouses and social aid. They are intended to inform and to prevent undesirable situations.
Legal Briefs 2024
December
Jerome Discovers that He May Be Alice’s Father. Can He Get the Birth Certificate Changed?
Jerome was romantically involved with Sophie from March to June 2021. After the separation, however, they lost touch with each other. In November 2024, Jerome decides to search for Sophie on social media. When he finds her Facebook account, he discovers that she gave birth to Alice in January 2022. He also sees that she indicates that she is in a relationship with Peter, who is identified as Alice’s father.
Faced with doubts about his potential paternity of Alice, Jerome decidesto go to court to contest Peter’s paternity and have his own paternity recognized. Despite the real possibility that he is Alice’s father, the court dismisses his application.
Indeed, Alice’s declaration of birth was filled out in January 2022, and Peter is named in it as her father. It is therefore Peter who appears as the father on the birth certificate. Moreover, he has always taken care of Alice since her birth, openly and publicly. He has exercised what is known as uninterrupted possession of status with respect to Alice by acting towards her like a father for a minimum period of 24 months since her birth. This definition is set out in article 524 of the Civil Code of Québec:
Uninterrupted possession of status is established by an adequate combination of facts which indicate the relationship of filiation between the child and the person who acts toward him as his parent. For possession to be uninterrupted, such conduct must begin at the child’s birth and continue for a minimum period of 24 months, except in exceptional circumstances.
Uninterrupted possession of status may not be established in cases where it is exercised by more than one person simultaneously.
Article 542.19 paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Civil Code of Québec specify the following:
Unless otherwise provided by law, no one may contest the status of a person whose uninterrupted possession of status is consistent with their act of birth.
Where uninterrupted possession of status cannot be established because it is exercised by more than one person simultaneously, the person who is biologically related to the child takes precedence. However, in the case of a child born of procreation involving the contribution of a third person, the person who formed a parental project with the child’s parent takes precedence.
Therefore, once a parent is named on a child’s birth certificate and exercisesuninterrupted possession of status, it is no longer possible to contest the filiation between the child and that parent. Even if Jerome is Alice’s biological father, he cannot be legally recognized as such, because he did not exercise his recourse in time.
It is therefore important to act quickly if one wants to modify a child’s birth certificate, because when uninterrupted possession of status is consistent with the birth certificate, the certificate can no longer be modified, regardless of who the child’s biological parent is.
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Don’t hesitate to have your eligibility for legal aid evaluated by making an appointment at a legal aid office near you. You can also check your eligibility online here.
To find the contact information for your legal aid office, please click on the following link www.csj.qc.ca.
Legal brief *
December
2024
Number
11
Text prepared by Me François Lacoursière
Update by CSJ
* The information set out in this document is not a legal interpretation.
The masculine is used to designate persons solely in order to simplify the text.
October
HAS or SARPA, which applies to me?
HOMOLOGATION ASSISTANCE SERVICE - (H A S)
The Homologation Assistance Service is intented for parties residing in Quebec who wish, for whatever reason, to modify arrangements pertaining to child custody or access rights or support involving a child or spouse (or former spouse), where t
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August
Neighbourhood disturbances between tenants
You’ve been renting a new apartment for a few months and the neighbours are too noisy.
According to article 1854 of the Civil Code of Québec (hereinafter the “C.C.Q.”), landlords,also referred to as lessors, have the obligation to provide their tenants with peaceableenjoyment of their dwel
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May
Social Assistance - Understanding the New Basic Income Program
Social assistance, social solidarity, basic income – it’s easy to get lost in the many government programs available to people experiencing difficulties.
The Quebec government has established two programs for the province’s residents who are in a precarious situation: (1) The Social Assistanc
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April
De Facto Spouses* and financial eligibility for legal aid
Lea and William are the parents of a 15-year-old girl named Rose. Rose chose to live with her father when her parents split up two years ago. She now wants to move in with her mother and Annabelle, her mother’s partner, but her father disagrees. Rose’s mother thus quickly makes an appointment with a
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January
Can a police complaint be withdrawn?
Perhaps you filed a police complaint against someone a few days ago and now wish to withdraw it. You should know that it may not be possible to do so.
First, it’s important to understand that when police receive a complaint, theygenerally conduct an investigation to gather as much evidence as
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