Question:
If a woman becomes pregnant, is there a paternity law that requires her to inform the child’s biological father?
I suspect my ex-girlfriend is pregnant with my child, and I would like to reach a child custody agreement with her.
But she has never confirmed her pregnancy and is now moving away so I want to know if she’s legally obligated to inform me.
Answer:
I am not licensed in your state so I am unable to give you legal advice on divorce. I can give general divorce help for men, though.
I am not aware of a paternity law in any state that would impose a legal duty on a pregnant woman to inform the would-be biological father of the child of her pregnancy.
Moreover, I am not aware of any laws that would require a mother, after she has actually given birth to a child, to inform the biological father of the birth of the child.
In Missouri (where I practice) the Department of Health maintains a Putative Father Registry which allows a man to claim he is the father of a child. This does not legally establish that he is the father of the child, but a man may want to file this claim before paternity is legally established if the man is not able to find the mother or if the mother does not want to establish paternity.
The protection of the Putative Father Registry is applicable for adoption purposes. In adoption proceedings, if the man is registered with the Putative Father Registry, the information is used to inform him of the adoption proceedings.
The father must register with the Putative Father Registry before the child’s birth or within 15 days of the child’s birth in order to be notified of adoption proceedings.
Otherwise, he may waive his rights to withhold his consent to the adoption.
Cordell & Cordell has men’s divorce lawyers located nationwide. I urge you to contact one as I do not know all the details of your case and thus cannot provide you with specific advice on divorce.
To schedule an appointment with a Cordell & Cordell attorney, including William F. Backer, an Associate Attorney in the Arnold, Missouri office, contact Cordell & Cordell.
Dont be an idiot sir…
Whoever posted last…. read what you just wrote and then ask yourself, should anyone really sympathize with you?
I just got childsupport papers served to me at my home for a 8 month child that i never knew ever exsisted! I never had any type of relationship with this woman and we had one sexual encounter over a year ago that she actually paid me money for. Nothing more nothing less. There was protection that she provided for us to use(a condom) there was no question of the possibility of getting her pregnant. she was truelly infactuated with me but she knew i would never be interested in being with her in any type of way, at that time i made the mistake of being hard on cash and could really use it. Now a year and a half later she is sueing me for child support. She never even contacted me to tell me that she was pregnant, she knew if i thought it was even a possibility i would fight for a abortion. What are my rights? I feel like I have been set up by a woman who did anything to be linked to me and my family! And all she can say now is “She is here now”. No ferternity test has been taken yet but I dont want nothing to do with this woman or this child. Advice PLEASE!
I am in the same situation!!!! I am so sorry for you that this happend and people dont know what it feels like to get set up! I had sex with a woman when i was under the influence of hardcore drugs.I made a mistake….but to be burdened with a debt for 18 plus years that will eventually accumulate to twenty to thirty thousand dollars?! Over a child I never knew existed until three years after it was born? That is pure WRONG. I missed the birth the naming the most important parts. A woman should be required to tell the father within a year if not then why should we just drop all our current life just for a bastard we never knew existed?! I’m sorry for how cold it sounds but I have a right to exist myself. And this charloten is stealing my money not letting me exist. I work at the dollar store for christ sake getting paid 7.50 an hour. After the deductions I make around 3.00 dollars an hour!!!!! Why am I even working why am I even alive trying??? They said oh well find a better job or find a second one and I did eventually have to! And I am broke still and miserable with no time. I am calling a lawyer in my state and I am gonna relinquish my rights hopefully. If they still want to make me pay still I will threaten to quit all my jobs and work under the table. I refuse to give this woman over 20 grand over some bad decision I made when I was all drugged up. Anybody that thinks otherwise I hate with a passion.