Quoting momahen07
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My question involves paternity law for the State of: alabama
my sister got pregnant while her and her husband and her were going through a trial seperation . she got back with him and when the baby was born he signed the birth certificate and the alfadaivt of paternity . now the other guy has showed up and is demanding joint custody and visitations and she said no he chose not to be apart of the babies life and to leave.so he said he was going to take her to court and force her to have a paternity test on the baby. can he do that? can the courts force her to get one?
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What I am about to tell you was true eighteen years ago, and these are not really the kinds of laws that tend to change in Alabama, so I am asserting this with a fair amount of confidence. However, the best thing for your sister to do is confirm it with an attorney. Usually, anyone worth his salt will tell you this in a consult, which most of them do for free. If she was still legally married to her husband when the child was born, and he signed the birth certificate, the Alabama courts will not illegitimize a child unless the legal father disputes his paternity. Since your sister was not married to the other man, any attempt by him to obtain paternal testing, or furthermore, rights, or custody will be met with a staunch "NO" from the courts. Have her to tell him that once he consults an attorney in the State of Alabama, he can learn this fact for himself and stop harassing her with idle threats. Only the legal father or your sister can initiate paternity testing, no third party can disrupt the child's legitimate status, and there are numerous reasons behind this. If you can't get it straight from an attorney, go to your local library and hit the books, Code of Alabama, under Family Law. That's as specific as I can get without my own books. I'm not an attorney, but I have worked for two, extensively, and handled cases of this nature, although, it was a little while back, few things tend to change in Alabama Law, even things that should!
Hope this restores some peace of mind, but verify that it's still the case, for certain.