Q: 10 yr old daughter in NE. Im in WA. Her mom wont let me see her. My name not on BC, she refuses to put my name on it.
My ex will not allow me to see our 10 yr old daughter. She was married at the time our daughter was born, but living with me. We raised her together. She didn't put my name on the Birth Certificate. Our girl was born in WA State but is now with her mom in NE. Her mother says that her attorney (I don't believe she has one) says she has all the legal rights and can take her away from me anytime she wants and I have no rights. She makes the decisions to let me see her or not. It's all her choices and I can't do anything about it. Is this true? She also told me that if I disrespect her in any way she will take my rights away completely. I have no money for an attorney and Legal Aid is no help. I don't know what to do. How do I file a paternity suit?
A:
Generally, a court isn't going to award a father any court-ordered parenting time with their child until paternity has been legally established. The statute of limitations for a private party to establish paternity is 4 years. Thus, if the child is over 4 years old and paternity has not been established, then the father generally needs to pursue one of the work-arounds to establish paternity. The most common method is to ask the State to establish paternity as the State can establish paternity until the child is 18 years old. The 4 year statute of limitations does not apply to the State.
Generally a father can request paternity established by the State by requesting child support services establish paternity. The State then generally the files for paternity and for child support to be ordered. The father can then piggy-back on that action and ask for custody or parenting time to be ordered as well.
You state that the mother was married at the time the child was born. There is a legal presumption that the husband is the child's father in Nebraska. If the parents are still married or the divorce decree states that the child is the child of the husband, then paternity may already be legally established with the husband due to the presumption. If there is already a legal father established (such as the husband), you may be prevented from trying to establish paternity now that paternity has been legally established and the 4 year statute of limitations has passed.
You would need to consult with an attorney directly to see what are your options under your specific facts of your case. Generally there is a work around despite the 4 year statute of limitations, but not always.
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