establishing a legal father

What is the name of your state? Texas

My question kind of goes along with the previous post. there is no father listed on my child's birth certificate and i know in texas you can sign a paternity acknowledgment to add the father. my question is, would this work for my husband? since i am not really sure who the biological father is and the man i think, believes the child was stillborn; this was done to protect my baby. so, would having my husband sign the acknowledgement of paternity be ok, or do we have to go thru a court to do it?

no it would not be "okay". You could have your husband do one of two things, get a DNA test OR file to adopt your child.

WELL SAID Ryry's Mom!

Thanks for the replies, but I have found out that it is legal in Texas to add my husband as the father to the birth certificate since the father space is blank.

So you can add "John Lennon"? Cool.

j_daffner said:

Thanks for the replies, but I have found out that it is legal in Texas to add my husband as the father to the birth certificate since the father space is blank.

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I would really double-check this (and hopefully with a lawyer) as that is VERY unusual.

"So you can add "John Lennon"? Cool"

Imagine!!!! Not ONLY famous, but rich, dead (and married, too). Establishing CS might require a higher power getting involved.

LOL, I did check with a lawyer, how else do you think I got the answer? I want to make sure that it will stick once it is done, call me overly cautious. However, since the assumed father informed when i got preg he couldn't have children, and I know I didn't violate the union, and for my son's own safety he was left off the birth certificate. The lawyer said that since my husband is willing to take on the responsibilities of being my son's legal father, and there are no objections by the parties involved, it is legal. Seeing that the birth certificate primariy establishes a legal father because if you could only put biological fathers on there, then how come there are a lot of men on birth certificates who aren't the bio fathers? of course, that was the lawyer's reasoning that she so kindly pointed out to me.

j_daffner said:

The lawyer said that since <snip> there are no objections by the parties involved, it is legal.

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This is the crux of the matter. DOES the bio father have any objections (because he IS a party to the matter), or has he not been informed? If he hasn't been informed - he has to be. You don't get to choose whether to inform him or not. If he doesn't contest it, then you're clear. But he needs to be served.

He believes the child is dead, this is not my doing, but yes I am going along with it. As I later found our, he has severe mental problems and a drug and alcohol problem and would have no problems killing my child out of spite. I will not put my child in that position and then have the state come down on my head and blame me for letting it happen and taking my other 2 children from me. I am doing what is in the best intrest of my child and to tell this man, who said from the beginning the child wasn't his and by the way, I was unconscious during the time my child was conceived. To tell him would be foolish and careless on part and not thinking of my child's welfare. Sometime's ignorance is better than knowledge.

Then I hope you realize what you are setting yourself up for. Because it is a very calculated risk. If he ever finds out (and never say it would never happen - anything is possible), you may find yourself in a sh*tload of legal trouble. If your kid ever find out..... you may lose him over the lie. Just so you're advised.

Let me ask you something. would you not take the risk to protect your child in the same situtation? The odds of him even realizing it are slim to none. We lived in the same place for almost 2 years and the guy thought we moved. He was so bad, I had to put a criminal trespass warning on him when I kicked him out. He busted my oldest child's lip because I refused to let him have my car keys, so tell me, is the risk not worth it? We are no longer int he vicinity of the man and last I heard he moved out of state. So, should I risk my child's life? Thank god, my son looks like he belongs to my husband biologically.

Also, with my husbadn being on the birth certificate, it is up to this man to do a dna test and seeing as how he let another child go as well since he didn't want to pay child support, somehow I think he won't have any objections. I am also betting that I am nothing more to him than a drug induced hallucination and since he wasn't able to find me when he was sober, he thinks he made me up.

and most imprtantly, lets not leave out that he molested my oldest at the age of 3

I very well might do the same thing - but I do think it's important for you to realize the potential consequences. And I'm really not sure that you can add someone to the b.c. w/o a DNA test. 'Cause that could lead to a huge mess legaly.