State paternity laws promote identification of parents

Submitted by anthony on Wed, 2011-05-25 10:23

Article here. Excerpt:

'If a new mother hopes to keep the father out of her child's life by leaving his name off the birth certificate, will she succeed?
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But, she cannot expect to receive court-ordered child support unless she identifies the father.

When paternity becomes an issue in court, it is usually because one parent - generally the mother - wants financial help for the child's expenses from the other parent. If the man she identifies as the father does not want to pay, he can request a paternity test and the court will order it.
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A mother can refuse to identify the father for the birth certificate. But if the man knows of the birth, he can sign an affidavit of parentage at the hospital that will have the legal effect of recognizing him as the father. He has 60 days to change his mind and sign a revocation or rescission of parenthood. After that, if he wants to revoke his affidavit, he would have to prove that fraud, duress or a material mistake of fact was involved in his assumption of the responsibilities of fatherhood.'

Ed. note: This is an article written pertaining to Maryland law. Paternity laws vary from state to state.

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Comments

It is one thing to not know who the father is and another to refuse to name him. This flies in the face of "rights of the child" supported by the United Nations. I realize a mother can easily say she does not know who the father is when she really does, but it should be illegal for her to do so. Even if a law is unenforceable it should still be in place as an indicator of society's expectations and to show support of the child's right to know.

The article was unclear if a a man can demand a paternity test against the mother's wishes in cases where the father wants to sign a affidavit of parentage at the hospital. I think any man that can prove he has reason to beleive he could be the father should be able to demand a paternity test before he enters any paternity agreements. Once paternity has been established by DNA it should be mandatory that father's name be on the birth certificate. There should not be any need for this 'second-class' document called "affidavit of parenthood".

It still looks like it is too easy to shut a father out. I think more pressure should be on a mother to name the father, DNA tests should be routine in situations that are questionable, and a father should have time on his side if the mother has purposely not informed him of paternity.

And I believe fathers should have just as much right to physical custody as the mother. (assuming they have not forfeited this in the past - as I don't believe parents should be able to yank the chain everytime they feel like it.) But in unplanned/unwed pregnancies a father should have just as much chance of receiving full or shared custody with CS paid to him.

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Submitted by Kris on Wed, 2011-05-25 17:36

CS in its current form should not even exist, period.

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Submitted by dudejo on Thu, 2011-05-26 10:08