If the couple are unmarried paternity must be established before a child support petition can be filed. If the father refuses to take a paternity test the court can order him to do so. The matter of not knowing his last name is indeed troubling and may be reason enough for the court to deny any motion for testing or support. Contact the department of family and children's services or the state health and human services in the state of residency for assistance.
Unless the man admits to being the father, a court will order a DNA test be done to determine your child's paternity. If he is the father, he will be ordered to pay child support.
ANSWERFirst you should talk to him and offer to split the cost of a testing kit, about $150. Tell him if you need to go to court, he will be ordered to pay all costs. If he is the father, than use a Mediator to put together a court order cover all the necessary issues. see linksYes, plus the mother can wait up to 18 years to file for a retroactive child support order.
---- As a single man, you have NO ASSUMED RIGHTSto the child. Watch the movie trailer at the link below about a single father. ᵅ
But, some recent material shows there's a possible option that you could file for custody even before the child is born, in the state where the child was conceived.
Get an order enter forcing a DNA test, unless one has already been done.
DO NOT PAY ANY KIND OF SUPPORT FOR THE CHILD UNTIL A DNA TEST IS DONE, AS IT ACKNOWLEDGES YOUR FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CHILD.
Once you begin paying child support, regardless of whether you are the father or not, you can be required to continue paying.
If you are paying without a court order, it can be considered a gift, with you ordered to repay for the same time period, especially if she's on Welfare, up to 18 years worth.
If one has not been done, go to the child support enforcement to setup a voluntary order. Wait for them to file against you will result in you paying all court costs of up to $5000.ᵉ ᶠ
Take a certified parenting course. The court is going to order you to take it anyway, so by showing you've taken it only looks good to them.
Start keeping a daily journal of all your activities. The most common way to prevent a father from getting his rights through the courts is a false allegation. A daily journal is your number one piece of evidence in court and you can even refer to it while on the stand.
Gather evidence. Check the site below to see if it is illegal to record conversations without the other person knowing. If your state does not have a law either way, than it defaults to the federal ruling which says one person in a conversation must know they are being recorded. You're that one person. In Missouri it is specifically legal, in Kansas there is no mention either way. If you live in two different states, and one has a law against it, than it applies when the call originates from within that state. Now, you can't just record, you also have to transcribe it into the daily journal.ᶜ
If you are being denied access, write her a letter notifying her of intent to exercise visitation on a specific date, like Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM. Sign it and make three copies. Mail the original Certified Mail and the other with Delivery Confirmation (75¢ + postage). If she rejects the one, she still receives the other. Whether the Certified Mail confirmation card or the Certified letter comes back, attach it unopened to a copy of the letter, plus a printout of the Delivery Confirmation from the web link below.ᵇ
When you file for visitation rights, take these documents to the County Courthouse. Have the Clerk of the Court notarize it and than place it in your case file. Do this three times before considering going to court. When you do go to court, the judge will these letters while preparing for the hearing.
When you show up to pick up the child(ren), bring witnesses. Do not enter her place alone. If you can record, have someone video record. Check the site below to see if it is illegal to record audio and/or video without the mother knowing. If her state does not have a law either way, than it defaults to the federal ruling, which says one person in a conversation, must know they are being recorded. THAT'S YOU!
The court will order you into mediation, so take the lead first and suggest it to her. Instead of hiring attorneys, going to a mediator, you can hammer out an agreement. A mediator is an attorney or paralegal with certified training as a mediator. You each have to pay half the fees in order for the mediator to have the appearance of being unbiased.
If you and the mother are civil, consider Bird Nest Custody. In this the child lives in one home and each parent live there for 3-4 weeks, than switch. You live with friends, family, rent a room, etc. on the off time. In this manner, your child's life is not disrupted. They are not being shifted back and forth. They keep their own room, friends, school, etc. It is hard on the parents, but than the child comes first. This is the form of custody rocker Ted Nugent had.ᵈ
If you want to learn how to do all this go to Dads House in Yahoo Groups. Upon joining, you will receive a link to an educational manual that can teach you what you need to know. Take the time to learn what you can and should do.ᵍ
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ᵅ Fathers Rights: The Movie
ᵇ United States Post Office: Delivery Confirmation
ᵈ Bird Nest Custody
ᵉ Child Support Calculator
ᶠ Child Support Laws - At What Age Does Child Support Stop?
ᵍ Dads House
ʰ JURISDICTION OVER AN IN UTERO CHILD
ᶜ Can We Tape
Other sites to check
Fathers & Families
Parental Alienation Syndrome
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If you are proven to be the child's parent and the court orders you to pay child support, you have to pay it, whether or not your name is on the birth certificate or whether the child has your name.
The answer is yes. The court can order you to submit to a paternity test. Once paternity has been established you will be required to pay child support.
Yes if, e.g., genetic testing establishes that someone other than the man who is listed on the birth certificate is the child's father. Also, in Illinois, the man who signed the birth certificate has 60 days to rescind his acknowledgment.
you could request a DNA test if come positive the court will make him pay for sure
Yes. Paternity must be established before support is ordered.
When he signed the birth certificate he became the father until/unless the courts rule otherwise.
The man who signed the birth certificate is the child's legal father until/unless a court rules otherwise, and can be made to pay support.
No. However, if the alleged father has signed the birth certificate, he is acknowledging that the child is his. There are steps to take in order to be taken off of the birth certificate and relieved of the obligation of child support, including a paternity test and an amendment to the birth certificate.
The process to get the birth certificate changed, any custody orders and child support corrected, etc., will be different in each state. You may need to see an attorney who specializes in family law. Generally there will be petitions to family court to get everything straight. You will almost certainly need an affidavit signed by both 'fathers' and DNA testing to prove who is (and isn't) father.
Yes, but he will have to file a petition for visitation. He may also have to go through paternity testing to verify.
By court order, he can, if he's under a child support order.
he says i dont want your dam child
Unlikely. Your husband is the legal father of the child.
You will have to file with the original court to have the child support order lifted in light of the new evidence. In some states however if you were married and or signed the birth certificate you are legally responsible for the child regardless of biological relationship.
Yes, unless the child has been adopted.
The man who signed the birth certificate is the child's legal father until/unless a court rules otherwise, and can be made to pay support.
I think that a paper with a signature should not be powerful enough to separate a creature from its creator. In this case, a father and an offspring. Legally, the father of that child is the person that signed the birth certificate, so no, the biological father does not have a right. Although, if you can get some type of blood test, then with the results you might have a chance to fight it off in court!
No. However, if the alleged father has signed the birth certificate, he is acknowledging that the child is his. There are steps to take in order to be taken off of the birth certificate and relieved of the obligation of child support, including a paternity test and an amendment to the birth certificate.
The child's last name isn't relevant. However, once you signed the birth certificate, you became the child's father until/unless a court rules otherwise and, yes, you could get visitation.
In all U.S. states the biological unwed mother is considered to have sole legal and physical custody of her child. If the biological father wishes to assert his parental rights he must first establish paternity to the child in question and petition the court for visitation privileges or custodial rights. If the mother wishes to pursue child support for the minor child she must show proof of paternity (signed birth certificate, or notarized affidavit for the father). It is the responsibility of the alledged father to prove he is or is not the biological father of the child, regarding custody, visitation and/or obligation of financial support.
The process to get the birth certificate changed, any custody orders and child support corrected, etc., will be different in each state. You may need to see an attorney who specializes in family law. Generally there will be petitions to family court to get everything straight. You will almost certainly need an affidavit signed by both 'fathers' and DNA testing to prove who is (and isn't) father.
Yes, but if you're not married to her, you have no rights to the child. see link
It depends upon a lot of factors - where you live, rather or not the mother is agreeable to his name being placed on the birth certificate, if there is already a father listed on the birth certificate, if the mother was married to someone else at the time she gave birth, etc., etc.