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What to Do if the Wrong Father is Listed on a Child's Birth Certificate

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  • 01-11-2016, 06:26 AM
    snaithad
    What to Do if the Wrong Father is Listed on a Child's Birth Certificate
    My question involves paternity law for the State of: Tennessee, the minor child's home state for the last 3 1/2 years. Original birth certificate issued in Florida.

    Hello all,

    To try and put this briefly, my daughter was born in 2010 and I was separated from my husband for approximately 6 years at the time. At the time of of her birth, my boyfriend (her *ahem* "father") wrote his name in the space for "Father" on the birth certificate while I was sleeping. The people from Florida Vital Statistics picked it up, issued the BC, giving my child his last name, even though I was concerned regarding the legalities since I was still legally married. He was abusive to both of us, and I left when my child was around 4 months old - she is now 5 1/2. There has been NO contact or support from her "father".

    The issue I have is that legally, her father is listed incorrectly on her birth certificate. The state of Tennessee where we have lived for almost four years cannot even pursue child support from him due to the fact that I was legally married to another man at the time of her birth. I need to know how to correct her birth certificate and other documentation, as she starts school this fall. I intended to put "Mother Refuses Information" in the "Father" space on her certificate, but my now ex-boyfriend put his name on the form and told me that it was legitimate. I had no reason to disbelieve him at the time. I would rather bastardize my child and know that she has the correct name than to have a man who hasn't shown any interest in over 5 years AND who should not legally have been there to begin with, on her birth certificate.

    I am a paralegal and a pre-law student but this above my pay grade, so to speak. Any help is appreciated. What I would like is to be able to change her name to mine and correct the error on her BC. I also want to reiterate that the man listed on the BC has not had ANY contact in over 5 years.

    Thanks,

    Jen
  • 01-11-2016, 06:40 AM
    llworking
    Re: Wrong Father Listed on Birth Certificate - Five Year Old Minor Child
    Who is her actual father? If its the guy on the BC, you are not going to get anything changed. If its someone else, that person would probably have to step up and file to establish paternity, in order to get it done.
  • 01-11-2016, 07:10 AM
    Ohiogal
    Re: Wrong Father Listed on Birth Certificate - Five Year Old Minor Child
    I agree with the answer you have already been given. But quite frankly, if you want to be a lawyer, you are going to have to learn you don't get to rewrite history. You don't seem to deny that your ex boyfriend IS the father. Rather you appear not to like the fact that YOU chose him to be your child's father and want to erase him. You can't do that. You may be able to change your daughter's name but you will have to serve him and prove how it is in the child's best interest.
  • 01-11-2016, 08:23 AM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: What to Do if the Wrong Father is Listed on a Child's Birth Certificate
    Quote:

    Quoting snaithad
    View Post
    ...my daughter was born in 2010 and I was separated from my husband for approximately 6 years at the time.

    Which means, it's safe to say that your husband is not the father of your child. If the only other possible father is your boyfriend, then the correct father is named to the birth certificate, even if it occurred through an improper action. Are you trying to collect child support from your ex-boyfriend?
    Quote:

    Quoting snaithad
    At the time of of her birth, my boyfriend (her *ahem* "father") wrote his name in the space for "Father" on the birth certificate while I was sleeping.

    As you know, there are two ways to apply for a birth certificate that names a father. The first is to sign an application for a birth certificate as husband and wife. The second is to file an acknowledgment of paternity, a notarized document that must be signed by both you and the father. In either case, the document must be signed by you. Tell us the specific facts.
    Quote:

    Quoting snaithad
    The people from Florida Vital Statistics picked it up, issued the BC, giving my child his last name, even though I was concerned regarding the legalities since I was still legally married.

    That follows from the document that was filed with the state.
    Quote:

    Quoting snaithad
    The issue I have is that legally, her father is listed incorrectly on her birth certificate. The state of Tennessee where we have lived for almost four years cannot even pursue child support from him due to the fact that I was legally married to another man at the time of her birth.

    That makes no sense unless there has already been litigation pertaining to non-paternity, and you have told us nothing about any such litigation or why you were unable or unwilling to address the issue of paternity at the time.
    Quote:

    Quoting snaithad
    I intended to put "Mother Refuses Information" in the "Father" space on her certificate, but my now ex-boyfriend put his name on the form and told me that it was legitimate.

    He told you that while you were asleep?
  • 01-11-2016, 08:23 AM
    jk
    Re: What to Do if the Wrong Father is Listed on a Child's Birth Certificate
    just so may things wrong here. Things that simply cannot happen as described because the system does not work like it suggests.

    1. the STATE puts the names on the birth certificate. They do that AFTER the folks at the hospital or the parents at a later time file the appropriate document with the information for the birth certificate to be recorded. Ya see, there is no birth certificate until all that info is sent to the state. Then the state makes a birth certificate and then the parents can obtain one.

    The registrar collects information from various sources. It is compiled and presented to the mother to verify and sign.

    The only way the man named on the birth certificate could have been put on there without an affidavit of paternity also filed would be you would have indicated the man with you was your husband and the father of the child.

    2. a childs last name is not determined by who the father is. The last name, if the mother is not married, is determined by the mother. It's as simple as; she gets to put whatever name she chooses to give the child. If the parents claim to be married (and the hospital registrar is not going to verify this) then the parents will have to agree on a last name. Especially since the last names of the claimed parents were different, the registrar is going to ask specifically what you choose as a last name, unless of course you registered under your boyfriends last name. Then they might have filled in the last name to match the both of yours.

    Quote:

    The state of Tennessee where we have lived for almost four years cannot even pursue child support from him due to the fact that I was legally married to another man at the time of her birth.
    not even close to being true. The named father IS the father until a court determines otherwise and Tennessee has no idea what happened outside of Tennessee that may have affected who is named as the father on the BC. So, the guy named on the BC IS the father as far as Tennessee is concerned. They are not going to dispute an official record from another state.

    Oh, but wait:

    Quote:

    I intended to put "Mother Refuses Information" in the "Father" space on her certificate, but my now ex-boyfriend put his name on the form and told me that it was legitimate. I had no reason to disbelieve him at the time.
    so claiming he put it there while you were asleep was not true? or if true, you still admit you knew about it so you were complicit in the deception.

    so, either you also put on the forms you were married to the man named as the father or there would have also needed to be an acknowledgement of paternity.

    Then, since you failed to take any action to correct the deception so far, you pretty much locked that in.

    In addition, since the named man IS the bio father, there isn't a thing you could do to remove him since if it came down to a challenge, he would be proved to be the father. In Florida, the husband of a woman is the presumptive father BUT that is rebuttable. It is not absolute.

    Now that you don't want the father to be the father, well, it isn't going to happen.
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