birth certificate advice please

My situation is simular I am in Ohio also. I was married in july 95' and dec 95 he left I did not see him the whole time he was gone In dec. 97' I had a baby and the hospital forced me to put his name on the certificate even though my fiance (the father) was right there the whole time . I Didnt have the money to hire a lawyer so on my own in 99 I filed my own divorce . He didnt show up so I was granted a divorce the divorce papers (that I read over and over again ) List My two children one from a previous marriage and the daughter born in 97" and the papers say no children of said marriage. But when I went to get her birth certificate changed they scoffed at me and One even said "I am so happy they have this law" they told me to go to the probate court . I did they told me I have to get a lawyer. I cannot afford a lawyer. I was told by someone who is not a lawyer that there is a way around it . Putting a sort of ad in the newspaper or something . Can anyone help me my daughter will start school next year and We are going to be getting married soon I want everything to be settled before these two things happen Please help me.. Thank you so Much for listening
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[Grace_Adler]

I'm not sure I understand. Ok your fiance is the father and you want your child to have his name right? Well you could wait till you get married and have him "adopt" although I know it sounds ridiculous. You would also have to get your ex to sign over his so called parental rights. Another way is to go get a paternity test done. Which is expensive. Here it's about $600. If you had that you could take it to court and they would have to acknowledge it. Then you could send the COPY to Vital Statistics or whatever it's called who handles the Birth Certificates and they have to change it. Well some states won't let you change it so you need to check. Those are the only ways I know. But you could try these options too:
Get another consultation with an attorney (If you have a lawyer referral program from the state bar you can get one for a reduced fee)
Call legal aid and see if they can help.
Ask the DA
Ask the Magistrate.

Also here are a couple of good law sites
[url]http://findlaw.com[/url]
[url]http://polisci.com/web/slegis.htm[/url]
Good Luck.

[Seanscott]

A paternity test between your fiance and children is the way to go. My girlfriend had been separated (but not divorced) for 3 years and then got pregnant. The great state of Indiana forced her to put her husband's name on the birth certificate and made him take a DNA test. So ridiculous!

Anyway, when the DNA test shows your fiancee is the father, the rest should all follow easily. The courts are slow and demand that everything be followed to the letter, but I think you have a relatively easy situation.

The DNA test is paid by the biological father and cost us about $300 in Indiana, when done through the courts. You can get one done in a lab without a court order.

If the court thinks your ex is the dad, then tell them to drag him into court for support. And that will start the ball rolling!

Good luck to you and don't worry. I think you'll get everything you want. Sometimes the courts, judges, etc. are just plain out & out STUPID!!

Sincerely wishing you the best. This is a headache caused completely by government regulations.