My daughter is now 5 years old and who she knows as her father is not the biological father and he does not uphold good morals, nor is he a responsible father. He is a drug addict and lives with a drug dealer. I do not want my daughter to be raised under those conditions. Do I have legal rights to have him removed from birth certificate and eradicate custody orders? I will also stop the child support orders he pays. Does the biological father have legal rights to her if the current orders do not cease? And does the biological father have to pay child support?
Rebekah Ryan MainDivorce / Separation LawyerRancho Cucamonga, CA ·
Sometimes relationship can create parental rights (and responsibilities) even without a biological relationship. You should meet with an attorney to discuss your specific situation. You may have grounds to modify the existing custody orders as not really being the father is definitely a changed circumstance! As for bio-dad, here’s some general information, if you want to establish paternity.
You want to establish parentage to either obtain court ordered child support, secure a custody and visitation order or to simply clarify your relationship as a family if you are not married or registered as domestic partners.
"Establishing parentage" means saying who the legal parents of a child are if the parents were not married when the child was born.
If the parents were married when the child was born, the law usually considers the husband to be the father.
After January 1, 2005, if parents are registered domestic partners when a child is born, the law assumes that the domestic partners are parents. However, since this law is new and unsettled, same sex parents should get legal advice to make sure that the parentage is clear.
Parents who are not married when a child is born can sign a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity before they leave the hospital, or after. When people who are not married can't agree about parentage, the court can order genetic testing.
Usually a child's parentage must be established before you can get child support or custody and visitation orders. You can ask the judge for child support or custody and visitation as part of a case that establishes the parentage of a child.
BE AWARE! If a person is established as a legal parent of a child, that person MUST support the child. It's a crime for a legal parent to fail to support his or her child. A legal parent also has the right to get custody and/or visitation rights related to the child.
The two main forms that you need to start the process are:
Summons (Uniform Parentage-Petition for Custody and Support) FL-210
Petition to Establish Parental Relationship (Uniform Parentage) FL-200
Best of luck to you.
Attorney Rebekah Ryan Main – visit us on the web at www.Main-Law.com or call 909-891-0906 to set up a consultation.
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The Standard in California is the best interests of the child. You weren't clear on the circumstances as to how this came about. You want the non-bio father out of the picture. Is that correct? Has he been adjudicated as the father in some proceeding? Were you collecting child support from him? If he is adjudicated as the father,
1) To remove him from the birth certificate, you would have to have a court order, with this fact situation;
2) If you want to modify custody, then you would have to file a motion to modify custody so that he has no custody or visitation rights. That would actually increase his child support responsibilities.
3) If you wish to terminate his parental rights, that is another court action, and based on the facts you've stated.
Where exactly is the bio father?
Who handled this case or have you consulted with a lawyer? If it's DCSS, then you ought to speak with them about how to proceed. I would suggest hiring a lawyer to straighten out this mess.
Merely obtaining negative paternity test results is not sufficient to terminate the non-biological father's parental rights and obligations. The existing court orders continue to be effective and enforceable until and unless they are modified or revoked by subsequent court orders. The biological father will need to establish his rights, if any, through the court. Only if the court terminates the non-biological father's parental rights can the biological father obtain any parental rights. With such rights come the obligation of Child Support. The issues which you address are extremely complex and will require your legal representation by an experienced Family Law Attorney.
