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Who can sign the birth certificate?

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ladye

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Kansas

I am currently 7 1/2 months pregnant by my boyfriend. My husband whom I married while he was in prison almost 4 years ago has been out of my life for three years. My boyfriend has supported me and my unborn child all this time but I just havn't had the money to file for a divorce. My legal husband keeps playing mind games and refuses to file for a divorce evn though he can get one free through the prison. I don't love my ex, don't want him around me and I really want my boyfriend listed as the father on my babies birth certificate! I live in Kansas and my husband gets out of prison a month after I'm suppose to deliver! I'm really scared that if my husband is listed as the father then his family will try something really stupid. My boyfriend is a good man we just can't seem to get the funds the get the darn divorce!!! Can I put my boyfirend as the father? HELP!!!
 


Who is the actual father? If you don't know then have a paternity test done when the baby is born. Is it possible that your current husband is the father? It doesn't seem that it would be a problem proving he wasn't the father, unles you have been having sex with him on visits with him. Although he could be the presumed father b/c of the marriage, due to the circumstances (him being incarcerated) then all you need is a dna test to prove your bf is the father. I say leave the father slot blank until you know for sure, and find out right away so there is no ? in the future.
 

ladye

Junior Member
My boyfriend is the father.

I know this for a fact because I've only been with him for three years. Plus my husband and I never consumated our marriage so I've never slept with him. I can't afford a Dna test later and worse yet I hear legal fees to get a name put on a birth cirtificate after the fact are expensive! Is there some kind of forms or something I can get to state my boyfriend is the father before my baby is born if he can't just sign the certificate?
 
Well if you know your boyfriend is the father then I would say have the bf sign the birth certificate and ackowledge paternity (check at the hospital if there is a different form) and move on with your life. If you can get a divorce for free through the prison do it. In order to change what is done (i.e. bf on birth certificate) then the husband would have to file a paternity suit in which case he would probably have to pay for it and then he would be excluded as the father and there would be nothing more for him to do. As fot his family they couldn't do anything until he was found to be the father and still their rights are limited. Go get the divorce. Since you married him while he was in prison and he hasn'e been out you two have no community property and or assets together (correct?) and if you two don't have any other children together the divorce should be simple and you may not need a lawyer just the filing fee which you can get waived or deferred in order to make payments.
 

Phnx02

Member
I agree with Smurfeelaw completely. Just have your boyfriend sign the birth certificate and get on with your life. However, I know of 2 people in similiar situations with 2 different outcomes.....it seems to depend on what your state law is. One woman I know was married and had a child by her lover. Although the boyfriend was indeed the real father and signed the BC, her husband was still considered the legal father for child support purposes because the state law where she lived said that any child born within a marriage was the husbands legal child - whether or not he really was the biological father! The other person I know had her boyfriend sign her daughter's birth certificate because she really thought he was the father. It was later determined that he was NOT the child's biological father, but was still required to pay child support for 18 years because he willingly signed the birth certificate! Check your state law
 
Hmm

This is confusing! If you never slept with your husband and he's been in jail for 3 years...why would you even consider putting his name on the certificate? The baby's father is the name that should be put on his birth certificate. Seems simple enough to me.

As for getting a divorce, there must be somthing you can do to get a divorce without his permission, seems like being in jail, he would lose many rights. Call a lawyer and get some free legal advice and then file yourself.
 
I guess it is a bit more complicated!

Found this...

If the mother was married at the time of conception or birth or between conception and birth, the name of the husband must be entered on the certificate as the father of the child, unless:


I. other paternity has been determined by a court of competent jurisdiction;

II.the mother and the husband execute joint or separate affidavits attesting that the husband is not the father of the child. Affidavits must be notarized, and signatures of the mother and of the husband must be individually notarized on any joint affidavit. If affidavits are filed, information about the father must be omitted from the certificate.

III.the mother executes an affidavit attesting that the husband is not the father and names a putative father, the putative father executes an affidavit attesting paternity, and the husband executes an affidavit denying paternity. Affidavits may be joint or individual or a combination of joint and individual affidavits. Each signature on an affidavit must be individually notarized. If all affidavits are filed, the putative father must be shown as the father on the certificate.
 
Kansas

Kansas Paternity Forms, Documents and Law

Marital Status: Most paternity actions involve a child born out of wedlock. Paternity actions also occur between married persons where someone other than the Husband is the Father of the child, or where the Husband has fathered a child outside his marriage. There is a presumption that a child born to a married woman is the child of the husband. However, this presumption can be overcome by DNA and other evidence. In some states, the Mother and Husband can sign an "Affidavit of Denial of Paternity" where both agree that the Husband is not the Father of the child.

http://www.uslegalforms.com/paternity/kansas-paternity-forms.htm
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Britlandco said:
Found this...

If the mother was married at the time of conception or birth or between conception and birth, the name of the husband must be entered on the certificate as the father of the child, unless:


I. other paternity has been determined by a court of competent jurisdiction;

II.the mother and the husband execute joint or separate affidavits attesting that the husband is not the father of the child. Affidavits must be notarized, and signatures of the mother and of the husband must be individually notarized on any joint affidavit. If affidavits are filed, information about the father must be omitted from the certificate.

III.the mother executes an affidavit attesting that the husband is not the father and names a putative father, the putative father executes an affidavit attesting paternity, and the husband executes an affidavit denying paternity. Affidavits may be joint or individual or a combination of joint and individual affidavits. Each signature on an affidavit must be individually notarized. If all affidavits are filed, the putative father must be shown as the father on the certificate.
Personally, I still think she should put the real father's name on the birth certificate. I doubt that her husband is going to challenge anything.
 

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