[srleslie]

My question involves paternity law for the State of: California.

Hey guys. I'm hoping you might can help me with this. My son is 2. He was born and currently resides in Monterey County, California. I live in Arkansas and have been established as his biological father through a DNA test. I am seraching for the procedure to have one's name put on a child's birth certificate. I have searched on the internet, called several offices in California and I really can't find any concrete information. I am wondering if any of you can give me direction as to how to go about this. I believe this may be the correct form, but I am not sure:

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/fillable/fl200.pdf

If any of you can help me in this matter, it would be greatly appreciated.

[distressedmom]

You can contact the Paternity Opportunity Program in California. If you google that you should be able to get to their website and forms.

You and the other parent may need to complete 2 forms. An Acknowledgement of Paternity and a Declaration of Paternity. If memory serves, one of these forms is a request to amend the birth certificate to add the father's name. The original birth certificate is then sealed.

[srleslie]

You can contact the Paternity Opportunity Program in California. If you google that you should be able to get to their website and forms.

You and the other parent may need to complete 2 forms. An Acknowledgement of Paternity and a Declaration of Paternity. If memory serves, one of these forms is a request to amend the birth certificate to add the father's name. The original birth certificate is then sealed.

The problem is that the mother will not cooperate with me. She went so far as to tell me that her new husband had been put on the certificate as the father. I, suspecting she was lieing, ordered a copy of the birth cerfiticate, and there's no father listed on it. She will use my son to get at me in any way she can, and I don't see her cooperating in this. I'll check out that website you suggested. Thanks.

[CourtClerk]

Ok hold on. The Paternity Opportunity Program is going to do nothing for you if she is not cooperative, because she will have to sign the declaration of paternity.

So, let's start at the beginning. The child was born in CA. You were established as the child's father by DNA in a CA court I presume. What brought about the DNA testing? A child support order or a parentage action?

If there has been no parentage action started, in order to get yourself on the birth certificate, you will need to start one at that point, you ask for joint legal custody and for visitation to be ordered. On your petition, you need to indicate that you would like the child's birth certificate amended to reflect that you were declared the father of said child, and your name be added to the birth record. Also, if you'd like, you can request that the child's last name be changed to yours, or hyphenated hers-yours.

Once you receive the judgment signed by the bench officer, then you send a copy of the judgment and a form called Adjudication of Paternity (not the amendment of the birth certificate) to the Department of Vital Statistics in Sacramento. They will do the work for something about $20. The complete process by DVS will take about 1 year after they receive your completed judgment and application.