No father is on the birth cert. How do we get my name on it & change his last to mine? My girlfriend, our 1-year-old son, & I have lived together in Oregon for 2 years. She has been trying to finalize her divorce (husband out of state) for over 2 years.
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An0nym0us
ANSWERS: 3
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Birth Certificate: The biological father's name goes on the birth certificate. Or if the mother lies at the time she delivers the name she throws out goes there. What you need is to adopt the child. Unless you are the biological father then a few simple blood tests will straighten things out. You need an attorney, a civil attorney who will 1. Get this divorce finalized now. 2. Get custody of the child away from the ex-husband and 3. Will start the ball rolling on the adoption process which will (if you are fit enough in the eyes of the state) make you his "dad" for all legal meaning of the word. Of course how you treat the kid and what you give to his development makes you his dad in more meaningful ways that no court of law can do justice to.
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In Florida it is irrelevant that the man who a woman is legally married to is not the biological father of a child. It is assumed for the sake of the child that the father is the same person as the husband. I know this because I had a case (as a paralegal) where the biological father died and the child was not entitled to his benefits under Worker's Compensation (it was a work related death) because the mother was married to a man she had not seen in over 4 years. The husband lived in the islands somewhere. Everyone acknowledged the decedent was the biological father, but the state managed to avoid paying out a settlement to the child due to the mother's marital status. In your circumstance, I'd be thinking that the first step is to conclude the divorce proceedings, then legally adopt the child, or have the papers drawn up for the soon to be ex-husband to surrender parental rights. I know, it is a terrible thing. But most states have the same sort of laws to protect children, and they cannot pick and choose where to apply them. Good luck to all of you.
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For the sake of this answer, I am assuming that you are the biological father. A paternity affidavit will usually suffice to establish your responsibility for the child, although it may not place your name on the birth certificate until you specifically establish your paternity of the child. The state of Oregon will also assist parties in establishing paternity regardless of the mother's marital status, usually through a social service agency. If your girlfriend has ever received state social assistance, they may try to establish child support (in the event that the two of you do not continue to reside together at some point). If the husband is not the biological father, he may need to disestablish paternity in the context of a divorce, but I am not sure of Oregon's laws in this regard. If her husband is the biological father, a step-parent adoption would be the appropriate method, although some less, shall we say, "up-front" methods may also be available to you two. You should talk to an attorney in this case. Good luck!
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