I signed the birth cert. because I believed I was the Dad. I found out later I'm not...now what?

Question

The mother and I have never been married. We all live in California and the child was born here. At the time of his birth (Oct. 2006) I believed that I was his father and signed as such on the birth certificate. I've supported the mother and child voluntarily (there have been no court filings or orders). This week an oral swab excluded me as the father. What do I do now to remove my name from the birth cert. and legally insulate myself from any more payments to the mother?

Answer 1

For a starters, i'm really sorry this has happened to you, I can only imagine how it would feel, especially if you developed a bond with the child. To remove your name from his birth certificate you will need a court order. Because it has been proven, though a DNA test that your the biological father, you will need to go through the courts to disestablish paternity and any assocated child support orders that signing the AOP (birth certificate) may have envoked.

Hope this has helped, good luck

Answer 2

ouch. you got something complicated going on there.

I don't know a thing about legal business.

But good luck!

Answer 3

try this on:

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/fam...

Answer 4

Man, you got served.  That sucks.  Sorry.  

Answer 5

ur screwed.. its ur family now

u have to support it

financialy

goodluck though

Answer 6

I'm not sure, contact a lawyer, thats very sad, seems like she wasn't too honest.

You would win if she tried fighting it in court.

She cheated on you right? You wouldn't have know it wasn't your kid, "unless the kid looks like a tottally different race and you signed the papers anyways.

like you two are white and the kid comes out black, it would be much harder to get out of that one because they would have wondered why you did not get dna testings when this happened."

"I saw something like this happen on a talk show thing"

but i'm pretty sure this is not the case here.

At the same time, I'm just basing this on what i have seen in the past, so i'm not sure so don't take my advise as 100% acurate.

Answer 7

Oh, ouch.  How horribly painful for you.  I am so sorry.  You sound like just the father that child needs.  I can't counsel you- but test results alone will clear you from further payments. Yes, you will need a court order to remove your name from the birth certificate, but you can probably do that at the same hearing as the payments, and without consul.  The test results from a certified lab, signed, witnessed, should be all that you need to that end.  To get back anything you paid, you'd have to sue and you'd need a lawyer.

I feel awful for you. I hope the child is not losing a father again.  Please don't tell me you spent time together because now I will get upset over it.  Tell the girl she's dispicable.

Best of luck.

Answer 8

Luckily for you, you're not under a court order for support, and it's only been about a year since you've been offering any.  Just don't pay any more.  If she tries to sue you for support, bring your DNA results, and plead your case that you were deceived, and it's most likely your name will be removed from the birth certificate in the ruling.

If she sues the biological father for support, the ruling in that case will remove your name and add his.

If you don't believe she will do either of those things, and you want your name removed to avoid any possible future legal responsibility for the child (or just to save the child confusion), contact your county department of family/children's services.  Though they can't give you legal advice, they will guide you through the petitioning process, and you don't need a lawyer.

Good for you for trying to do the right thing.  I hope this experience doesn't diminish your honor or your trust.  It's difficult to do the right thing when challenged by those who won't.  But we all gotta keep trying, and realize there are those who will value you for that, and resolve to teach the others by example.  Good luck, bro.