my stepson knew his dad pretty well, but his dad lives in the usa now, also my stepson was 17 when we applied for a settlement visa for him, they asked him to attend an interview and asked him about his father.
his father wasn't named on the birth cert, but my misses got his father to write a letter giving his consent for his son to go and live in the uk, he got his visa in a few weeks.
good you have the evidence about supporting your kids
, but money is one part of it, but also..
http://www.gherson.com/News/Sole-Res...in-the-UK.aspx
To meet the sole responsibility requirement, it is necessary to satisfy the Home Office that the sponsoring parent has, usually for a substantial period of time, been the chief person exercising parental responsibility for the child. This means that the sponsoring parent has had and still has the ultimate responsibility for the major decisions relating to the child’s upbringing and provides the child with the majority of the financial and emotional support it requires. The sponsoring parent must show that he or she has had, and continues to have, care and control of the child.