Found an issue on this page? Let us know and we will look into it as soon as possible.
Does a biological father have rights if he is not listed on the birth certificate?
Anonymous3 views1 answers
My daughter had a child from a short-term involvement with a man who subsequently went to jail. He was in jail at the time of the child's birth and my daughter did not put his name on the birth certificate . He is now out and is threatening to take legal action ( although he has no job and has other children who he does not support). My daughter sees him as a bad influence and does not want him in her daughter's life. He has friends and family who are involved with drugs and criminal activity. We are a middle class family for whom this is foreign. Does he have any chances of getting visitation or rights to my granddaughter?
I am a Los Angeles County Family Law Attorney and have represented litigants in situations similar to yours.
The short answer is yes, he does have a chance of getting visitation or rights to your granddaughter. However, it is not automatic and there are numerous things you/your daughter can do to minimize the liklihood of that happening, and to minimize any negative influence he or his family may have on her.
The first thing that would need to happen is he needs to take steps to legally establish parentage. Not being listed on the birth certificate isn't the end of the story. He can petition the Court by filing an action for parentage and ask that he be judicially proven to be the child's father. The Court could then require your daughter to cooperate by submitting the child's DNA to see if this man is bioloically her father. If he is, and parentage is established, he can then ask the Court to order a visitation schedule so he can meet your granddaughter and start seeing her on a regular basis.
If and when he does take the steps to establish parentage, you must comply with any court orders to make the child available for DNA testing. However, if it is proven that he is the biological father, you can object to him spending much time with her if in fact he would be a bad influence on her, if he poses a danger, has a drug and/or alcohol program, etc. The Court will need to determine what is best for the child, and if you can demonstrate that she may be at risk when she is with him, the Court may order limited visitation, supervised visitation, may order him to complete drug and alcohol counseling prior to spending time with her, etc.
There are numerous things you can do that could strategically benefit your position. This website is designed for more "general" answers and this will hopefully give you an idea of what could happen in your situation. Please feel free to contact my office via telephone or email and we can set up a free telephone consultation to discuss this in more detail.
I wish you the best. I hope for your daughter and granddaughter's sake the situation is resolved.
