[zellamae85]

My question involves paternity law for the State of: Tennessee

My husband and I split up and he is now saying that our daughter isn't his. He signed her birth certificate but doesn't want to support her in any way now. What can I do?

Also, I just found out I am pregnant and this baby isn't my husband's child. He is in Ohio and I am in Tennessee and we have yet to file for divorce. If we don't get the divorce before the baby is born, is he going to have rights to the child I am carrying? Is there any way not to get his name on this baby's birth certificate and the biological father's name on there if my divorce is not finalized or even started?

I currently do not have any income and find it hard to get money together to file and my husband doesn't want to help in any way. He just wants to make things extremely difficult.

[LawResearcherMissy]

If the child was born during the marriage, your husband is legally the father. He is obliged to support the child. If he's now crying "not mine", demand DNA testing.

36-2-304. Presumption of parentage

(a) A man is rebuttably presumed to be the father of a child if:

(1) he and the child's mother are married or have been married to each other and the child is born during the marriage or within 300 days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce;

(2) before the child's birth, he and the mother have attempted to marry each other incompliance with the law, although the attempted marriage is or could be declared illegal, void and voidable;

(3) after the child's birth, he and the mother have married or attempted to marry each other in compliance with the law although such marriage is or could be declared illegal, void, or voidable and:

(A) he has acknowledged his paternity of the child in a writing filed under the putative father registry established by the Tennessee Department of Children Services, pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated 36-2-115; or

(B) he has consented in writing to be named the child's father on the birth certificate; or

(C) he is obligated to support the child under a written voluntary promise or by court order;

(4) while the child is under the age of majority, he receives the child into his home and openly holds the child out as his natural child; or

(5) genetic tests have been administered as provided in Tennessee Code Annotated, 24-7-112, an exclusion has not occurred, and the test results show a statistical probability of parentage of ninety-five percent (95%) or greater.

(b) A presumption under subsection (a) may be rebutted in an appropriate action. Where the presumption arises as a result of the marriage of the mother and father and the child is still living, any action to rebut such presumption shall be brought within two (2) years of the birth of the child. The standard of proof shall be by a preponderance of the evidence.

(c) All prior presumptions of parentage established by the previous paternity and legitimation statutes and cases are abolished.

If we don't get the divorce before the baby is born, is he going to have rights to the child I am carrying?

If the child is born within 300 days of the divorce becoming final, he's still the legal father.

The child's bio father will need to bring an action to establish parentage through the courts.