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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    4

    Question Divorce and a Child Birth Certificate Discrepancy

    Ok...here's a good one for someone to help with...

    A friend of mine was pregnant but married a man who was not the biological father. Shortly after their wedding the she gave birth to a son and listed on the birth certificate the new husband, not the biological father. Keep in mind that this happened in Guam.

    A short time later, while the new husband was deployed oversees they divorced, on their own via correspondence. In the divorce agreement they noted that "no minor children had been born before or during the marriage". At no point was the issue of the birth certifcate and need to amend it discussed or outlined. Today, the mother is encountering problems with issues which require both parents to consent, such as those related to travel/passports. Actually, when she applied for his passport she completed a declaration explaining the absence of the birth certificate father and it was accepted.

    So my questions are these:

    1) Does the divorce agreement where they noted no children overule the birth certificate?
    2) Would this be enough documentation to amend the birth certificate? Would this happen in Guam or California where they live?
    3) Does the divorce agreement need to address the issue of the birth certificate?
    4) Is a copy of the divorce agreement enough legal documentation to allow the mother to consent to international travel for the child (when traveling alone with family friends)? Since the birth certificate would also be carried in travel wouldn't this cause confusion?

    I appreciate any feedback/direction soemone could provide on this.

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Divorce and a Child Birth Certificate Discrepancy

    You say the application was "accepted" - do you mean, a clerk physically "accepted" the papers from her to process, and now they've told her that her explanation is inadequate? i.e., if she doesn't provide proper documentation her application will be rejected?

    1. Does failing to address the fact that a child was born during the marriage, and that the husband is the child's legal father, on divorce papers change somebody's birth certificate? No. Nor does it undo the lie the couple made when identifying the husband as the father on the child's birth certificate.

    2. Would failing to address the paternity issues in the divorce documents be enough to convince Guam to change the birth certificate? If it doesn't address paternity, it doesn't address paternity.

    3. The divorce judgment should have specifically addressed nonpaternity. They can consult a lawyer in whatever jurisdiction they were in when they filed for divorce about their options for correcting the record and getting a judgment in proper form. Depending on how long they've waited and the laws and policies of Guam, in relation to delegitimizing the child, Guam may say "too bad, so sad" to the ex-husband. I don't see anything here that would allow dad to disavow paternity; but that doesn't mean there isn't a way - they can consult a lawyer who practices in Guam.

    4. You indicated that the parents omitted required information from the divorce paperwork and neglected to inform the court about the child. Thus the divorce paperwork didn't address the issue of custody and the child's legal parents will both need to participate in the application process.

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