Paternity

[SusanM]

I am wondering what rights my son has. The girl is not sure who the father is, my son or another. Most of the time she is saying that the unborn infant is my sons and the next time she says that it is her boyfriends.

Does my son have the legal right to get a court ordered paternity test and at what stage in the pregnancy can the paternity be determined. At that time should he file for either custody or joint custody, or should he wait until the baby is born? He wants to be a part of the entire pregnancy, birth, etc. and definately wants legal custody if in fact this child is his.

We are just wondering what rights he has and at what point he should begin action?

 

[seniorjudge]

He should file suit immediately to establish paternity and support payment amounts.

To show his good faith, he should deposit $10K with the court for child support.

 

[Duranie]

It is highly unlikely he will get custody, but if the baby is his then he has rights to visitation. At this point there is nothing he can do until the baby is born. He needs to see if his state has a putative father registry and sign up for it. Also google "establishing paternity in (your state)". Until paternity is established he has no rights, and I certainly would not sign any birth paperwork until a DNA test is done to see who the father is.

 

[AuntieCoosa]

Establishing Paternity

You've gotten good advice. As a former Caseworker, I'd suggest following what's been said. Paternity can't be established until after the birth. And you may have to pay for the test which can run to around $1000.

Do NOT sign anything establishing your relationship to this child until you know for sure. I have worked on cases where there was both Legal and Putative Fathers and BOTH were Court Ordered to pay Child Support. The legal father was married to the mother when the child was born and later divorced her. He was unable to have children with his (then current) wife due to the amount of child support he was having to pay for the child that was not even his.

Next time, don't let there be a next time. Keep it zipped, if you get my drift.

AuntieCoosa