Q: How does a father get on a birth certificate if mom is dead in arizona
My boyfriends 4 year old sons mom died 2 years ago. My boyfriend is not on the birth certificate because she changed it with out his knowledge. I paid for a dna test and it is his baby. Now were stuck on how to get my boyfriend on the birth certificate without her. Again we live in arizona. Thank you so much.
A: The process is called "adjudicating parenthood." If you are in Maricopa County, you may use the forms found at https://superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/media/2971/drp1z.pdf. If you are outside Maricopa County, you may be able to find similar forms on your county court website. You may also use the Maricopa County form as a guide and draft your own document changing "Maricopa" to your county name. There are a number of forms included with the PDF above. At a minimum you will need to fill out the confidential cover sheet and the Petition for Court Order for Paternity. Whatever county you are located in there should be a self-help website or center that can provide limited assistance with which forms you need to file. You will notice there is a check box on the Petition which will cause the order to be sent to vital statistics to change the birth certificate. Good luck!
A:
We can still file a "Complaint in Paternity", alleging that he is the Father. Then, we would serve the representative of Mother's estate. If there is no such person, we would ask the Court for "alternative service" under a number of different theories. Ultimately, at the conclusion of the matter, Our Judge would ORDER the Department of Vital Statistics to add Father's name to the birth certificate.
Please come in soon. We can certainly help him consider and then pursue his options to establish his legal paternity.
This is obviously a very important matter, and he should not go in alone.
One of our attorneys can explain the issues and procedures better in person. As you can imagine, there is too much to cover via email. We offer free ½ hour consultations, in which we can discuss your matter in detail.
Please call or email my assistant Maddy to schedule your free ½ hour consultation.
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