Q: Does someone have parental rights if they did not sign the birth certificate nor were married ? Any to sign over?
My baby’s father has not been in the picture since i found out i was pregnant. He said he wanted to sign his rights over. Does he have rights? Department of Children and Families are trying to go after him for child support.. I don’t honestly care about the money, just want to make sure he doesn’t have any rights.
A:
When a child is born out of wedlock, the mother is the only natural legal guardian of the child. The Father must go to court to establish his rights. He can also register with the putative father registry to help secure or his intentions of asserting paternity. He does still have some legal rights as the biological father that will need to be addressed. Typically the Department of Children Families will be obligated to track down the father even though he has not had any prior contact with the children. You may want to speak with an experienced local family law attorney to get more specific information.
I wish you all the best. David A. Carroll, Pensacola Divorce Lawyer
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
