Paternity
What if the father denies the baby during the pregnancy and abandons the mother? Does the mother still have to put him on the birth certificate? I’m Tulsa Attorney James Wirth and that is the question that we have. And it’s kind of multifaceted things there. So as far as putting him on the birth certificate, there’s no way to force you to do that. And additionally, if he has abandoned the child, you can’t do that on your own.
Can the mother put the father on the birth certificate?
At birth, they provide you generally with a form from the Department of Human Services and it is an Acknowledgement of Paternity form. And the mother cannot do that alone. It requires two to get that completed. The mom would sign off asserting that father is the dad and the father has to sign off asserting that he is the father. Both parents have to sign that document. And if they do, that goes to vital records and that is how the father gets placed on the birth certificate. So the mother cannot do that unilaterally. So it’s not whether she has to, it’s she can’t.
Does the father lose all rights if he opts out?
The question here also notes that I think he loses all rights once he opts out. Okay, so that handles the birth certificate question. But as far as whether he loses all rights, he does not. If the child remains with you as opposed to giving up for adoption, which could result in the father losing rights, then the biological father can step up, file a paternity action, request DNA testing in order to determine whether he’s a biological father.
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