Paternity
Whose last name does a child take from unmarried parents?
When an unmarried couple has a child, whose last name does the child take?
Can my daughter be adopted by her stepfather without her biological father's consent?
My daughter has requested to be adopted by her stepfather, my husband, who has been the only real father she has had since my divorce from her biological father when she was 4. We have joint custody, with standard visitation rights for him, but he has not had steady visitation since the first 3 years or so after the divorce, and has only seen her twice in the past 3 years. He has a long record of drug possession and DUIs, and moved out of state a year ago. He is about $50,000 behind in child support for her and her older sister who is now 18. My younger daughter is 16 and will be 17 in June. At this point is it necessary to have her biological father agree to give up his parental rights? If so, can physical and financial abandonment be reason to terminate his rights? When she turns 17 can my daughter choose to terminate the legal relationship? How old can a child be to be able to be adopted? At this late age, would it be better to simply change her name legally, and would her biological father have to agree to that?
We want to do what is in her best interest, and after considering this for quite some time, she has decided that she wants my husband to be her legal father and to take his last name.
How can I file to keep custody of my daughter?
How do I file papers to keep my daughter who has been with me all her life? Her father and I were never married. He left when she was a baby. Now she is 11 and I don't want to lose her.
Do I have to settle my daughter's estate with an unproven father?
My daughter died unexpectedly without a will. A man is claiming to be her father and is trying to get me to settle quickly by giving him one-half of her estate. He has no proof that he is my daughter's father. Do I have to settle in this manner with him?
What are the legal rights for paternity testing in an affair situation?
A married female has an affair and then gives birth to a child. She is unsure whether the biological father of the child is her husband or the man with whom she had an affair. What are her legal rights to have a paternity test to determine the father of the child? What rights does the lover have if the test determines that he is the biological father of the child?