非婚生子女/同居伴侶之撫養權及贍養費的安排 Custodial rights and ancillary reliefs of children of unmarried parents

 非婚生子女/同居伴侶之撫養權及贍養費的安排

香港法例第 192章 《婚姻法律程序與財產條例》保障已婚伴侶關係破裂時的贍養費和子女的撫養權。不過，近年非婚生子女的數量愈來愈多，當同居伴侶的關係破裂時，關於子女的問題該如何處理？

現時香港的法律同樣保障非婚生子女的父母的撫養權。根據香港法例第13章《未成年人監護條例》第三條（1）（c），非婚生子女的母親自動享有該名子女的撫養權，而非婚生子女的父親須另行向法院申請方可獲得同等權利。

非婚生子女跟已婚生子女一樣享有贍養費的權利。唯一不同的是，同居伴侶關係破裂時只能得到有限的經濟濟助，有別於受法律保障的已婚夫婦可得到的經濟濟助。根據《未成年人監護條例》第十條（2）（b），法院可要求非婚生子女的父母的任何一方向申請人，即關係的另一方支付該名子女的贍養費。在 Re P 一案中，法院提及下列在判決非婚生子女的贍養費時的考慮因素。
• 子女的利益；
• 父母的關係性質及關係維持的長度；
• 子女及照顧者的財務需要；
• 父母雙方各自的收入、賺錢能力、資產及財政資源；
• 如母親（照顧者）沒有足夠的資源給予自己及子女，應當為母親提供適當的住宿；
• 公平、公正和合理地處理贍養費。
一般的家庭開支應當反映在贍養費上。在L v W 一案中，法官提到非婚生子女佔據的家庭開支不能以半個成年人的開支計算，子女的合理家庭開支應當計算在贍養費內。

總括而言，非婚生子女的母親自動享有子女的撫養權，而父親則須另行向法院申請才能享有相等權利。非婚生子女也能按個別情況跟已婚生子女一樣在父母關係破裂時得到贍養費。

如有需要查詢非婚生子女的撫養權及贍養費安排、離婚或婚前婚後協議，歡迎WhatsApp 6977 6708 （林先生）查詢及報價以早作最適切的安排。

Custodial rights and ancillary reliefs of children of unmarried parents

In the past, only married couples enjoy custodial rights and financial reliefs of the children under the Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Ordinance (Cap.192). However, there are more children of unmarried parents today.

The legislations today allow unmarried couples to enjoy custodial rights in relation to children who are born out of wedlock provided that both parties are the natural parents of the children. According to s.3(1)(c) of the Guardianship of Minors Ordinance (GMO) (Cap.13), an unmarried mother is automatically vested with all rights and authorities in relation to the child. An unmarried father of the child has to acquire such parental rights and authorities through an application to the court.

Children receive financial reliefs regardless of the marital status of their parents. The only difference is that an unmarried parents may not receive such reliefs for their own maintenance from their partners as a married couple can when a relationship breaks down. According to s.10(2)(b) of the GMO, the court may order a parent of the child to supply the other parent, the applicant, ancillary reliefs for the maintenance of the child. The court in Re P considered the following factors in granting ancillary reliefs to a child of unmarried parents.
• Welfare of a child;
• Length and nature of the parents’ relationship;
• Financial needs of the child and the carer;
• The respective incomes, earning capacities, property and other financial resources of each of the parents;
• Suitable accommodation for the mother if she lacks significant resources for herself and the child;
• Fair, just and reasonable.
General household expenses was also considered as part of the child maintenance of unmarried parents in L v W where the portion of a child expenses in the household cannot be half of an adult.

Therefore, unmarried mothers enjoy custodial rights automatically while unmarried fathers must apply to the court for such rights. They may also be granted court order to provide/ receive ancillary reliefs for the maintenance of the child on a case-by-case basis.

If you require any consultation relating to children of unmarried parents, divorce or pre/post-nuptial agreements, please feel free to contact Mr Lam through WhatsApp 6977 6708 for further details and arrangements as soon as possible.