Q: My child’s father has known about child since day one but refused to be in their life. Can they come back after 4 years?
They knew about the child from day one but didn’t want to step up! Now after 4 years they decided they are ready to be in said child’s life! No child support or Paternity test was done. Could they have any rights to said child?
A:
The statute of limitations to establish paternity is 4 years old for a private party but 18 years old for the State. Once the state brings a paternity action, then the father can ask for custody and parenting time. Thus, there are many cases where a father is granted parenting time (and sometimes even custody) when the father was not involved in the child's life until the child was older than 4 years old.
On the other hand, it is possible to have a parent's parental rights terminated due to abandonment. This is most commonly done when the parent wants to pursue a step-parent adoption action so that the child's step-parent can adopt the child.
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.
