Virginia - Fathers Rights

Hello I need some advice...or info if you have it. My friend....believes he has a child by an ex girlfriend. The baby is over 6 months old..and he did not know she existed until after she was born. He wants to be involved in her life (the child). He and the mother did not work out obviously but he is willing to be agreeable with her and take responsibility for his child. I don't know what to tell him because his name is not on the birth certificate but another man's name is. Is there such a thing as a man filing for paternity testing if he is not on the birth certificate. I have been all over these sites and have not seen that info anywhere. Please advise!!!

Thank you in advance!

Crystal B

[snostar]

Is the mother of the child married?

He can file a petition requesting establishment of paternity through genetic testing.

[VeronicaGia]

And he would be very wise to file that petition and insist on a DNA test. If she put someone elses name on the birth certificate, there are already two potential fathers. There could be more.

Take a look through the statutes here:

[url]http://leg1.state.va.us/000/lst/LS004670.HTM[/url]

You have 18 years to establish paternity. Although it will be more difficult if the woman was married at the time of the birth and/or has placed another man's name on the birth certificate.

[nextwife]

He may have 18 years legally, but the child has 6 months to a year or so until they start to develop the CONCEPT of "Daddy". For the child's sake, the sooner the better if he wishes that child to keep whomever they believe to be their daddy unchanged.

They can also,through the courts, declare a legal father (the husband) and a biological father (the ex) and both men can be responsible for the child. If there was a divorce or break up afterwards the poor baby would be split three ways instead of two. A very tangled web for sure.

Originally Posted by mdhyde

They can also,through the courts, declare a legal father (the husband) and a biological father (the ex) and both men can be responsible for the child. If there was a divorce or break up afterwards the poor baby would be split three ways instead of two. A very tangled web for sure.

could you clarify this please? "...both men can be responsible for the child." In what way do you mean? Also, "...the poor baby would be split three ways instead of two." What do you mean?

If the man on the birth certificate has had time to bond with the child, in a lot of states, he could sue as if he was the father and get visitation and other rights as a natural father would. It is important about the bonding issue though (how long,how attatched the child is, etc). Of course the natural father would have rights also. The touchy part would be who would pay child support. One, the other, or both? That I do not know, I would assume that it would depend on each individual situation.

[VeronicaGia]

Originally Posted by mdhyde

If the man on the birth certificate has had time to bond with the child, in a lot of states, he could sue as if he was the father and get visitation and other rights as a natural father would. It is important about the bonding issue though (how long,how attatched the child is, etc). Of course the natural father would have rights also. The touchy part would be who would pay child support. One, the other, or both? That I do not know, I would assume that it would depend on each individual situation.

***What? Both men will not be responsible to pay support. Only one, no matter how you slice it. If man A is considered the father now and pays support, and man B takes it to court and is adjudged the father, man A is off the hook for support and parental rights. I've never heard of any situation where two men are responsible to pay one woman for the same child at the same time.

Both men would not have to pay support. However, man A would be entitled to visitation and other rights. It would depend on what state and of course which judge.