What Rights Do I Have to Sign Birth Certificate

[josh70458]

My question involves paternity law for the State of: louisiana

i am having a baby with my girlfriend. she lives 5 hrs away on her familys land in her own home. she is telling me that i can not sign the birth certificate because she is on disability. if i sign then she loses her disability and the insurance it provides for her and her son. and that we will also be liable for the whole pregnancy. she doesnt live with me and we arent married. we may or may not get married after the baby is born. i am trying to find out how true what she is saying is and what are my rights as the father. i do not want to have to adopt my own child but i dont want to cause her or me financhial ruin either.

[Riply]

Just so I understand better, is she on Social Security Disability ? Is the child receiving auxillary benefits through Social Security (Can I assume this is another child, and not yours ?) ? Is it Medicare that she refers to as the "insurance" ?

These things can get complicated, especially if it involves SS Disability and other SS benefits. I'm sure some other member of the forum has that information at their fingertips, but it might be important to know for sure.

[josh70458]

im not sure if its social security or not. she has a physical disability that prevents her from working. her first child is not mine but from my understanding is covered by the fathers insurance but she uses her insurance to cover the 20% his ins. doesnt cover. the child has significant health cost cause of an auto immune disorder. i dont believe the child recieves any aux benefits. and according to her, the insurance is most definetly not medicaid.

[Riply]

I think you're confused. Medicaid and Medicare are two different things. She could have coverage under one or both. If her "insurance" is not Medicaid (which she could usually only get if she had Medicare and was "low income") then it would possibly be Medicare, and it may make a difference. Not sure at this point.

It's important to know whether her Disability is paid through Social Security or a Private Carrier.

SS has certain rules that might be effected by paternity, but without knowing the facts, it's hard to sort it out. Medicare may or may not be effected by paternity - something I'd have to research.

On the same note, a Private Carrier might have some provisions to include your income (if any) when/if paternity is established that could affect her benefits, but that would probably be a matter of the terms of coverage.

I'm not an "expert" in that area, but I'm sure another poster will drop by and enlighten us both.

I still think it may be important to know for sure WHERE her disability comes from and WHAT her "insurance" actually is.

[josh70458]

i understand. i dont know much about medicaid or medicare lol but from what she told me she isnt in any state welfare type program. she was very clear that she has disability insurance and that it has nothing to do with medicare. i will try to find out if she is on social security or private carrier. but i would say s.s cause she always says its the state she has to deal with. im afraid that my lack of experiance and knowledge with these things are causing as much a problem as anything else. it has become a touchy subject between us and i have problems discussing it without her getting defensive. but i have six months ruffly till the baby arrives so i hope to be able to iron all this out by then. thanks for your input on the situation.

[Riply]

Social Security isn't a State benefit, it's a Federal benefit. Some States, like California, have State Disability programs (don't know if LA does), so if she's dealing with the State for her disability, that might be what she's getting.

Every agency has its own rules, so knowing the source of the benefit and insurance both is probably critical in anyone being able to clearly give you any guidance or suggestion.

[Mr. Knowitall]

It sounds like mom is on public assistance and has claimed that she does not know who the child's father is. Do you know if that's the case?

[josh70458]

public assistance sounds like welfare and i know she isnt on welfare. she gets a check from the state for being physically disabled and unable to work ( and it seems la has its own disability program ) she was a nurse. i just dont see how stating me as the father on the birth certificate can affect her disability. no matter what happens she wont be able to work and i cant support her from across the state.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Why don't you ask her, then come back here with the facts.

[Riply]

It sounds like mom is on public assistance and has claimed that she does not know who the child's father is. Do you know if that's the case?

Just digging around a bit, you're probably 100% on this. LA provides short-term disability to pregnant mothers for 4 months. If she claims no knowledge of the Father, her benefits pay loss of wages, plus medical for a certain number of weeks (pre-partum & post-partum).

On the other hand, it appears that if there is a named Father (i.e., this OP signing the birth certificate), then the benefits can be substantially reduced or denied.

A fly in the ointment ?