Getting Deceased Father's Name Added To A Birth Certificate In Florida

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Jurisdiction

Florida

For a number of not so good reasons my sister in law did not put her daughter's father's on her birth certificate. She did not list anyone as the father on the birth certificate.

Here are a few details of the situation.
She is still legally married to someone other than her daughter's father but she has not lived with him for over five years. She was cohabitating with her daughter's father at the time of her conception and birth and they lived together for the first 2 1/2 years of the child's life. Her daughter's father passed away in March of 2016. Her daughter's grandparent's are not being particularly cooperative about helping establishing paternity but did claim their son's daughter as a dependent on their 2016 tax return.

So now roughly a year after her daughter's father died she wants to get his name on the birth certificate as her daughter's father to establish paternity so her daughter can request Social Security and VA benefits, her daughter's father was a disabled Iraq War veteran.

 

[leslie82]

For a number of not so good reasons my sister in law did not put her daughter's father's on her birth certificate. She did not list anyone as the father on the birth certificate.

Here are a few details of the situation.
She is still legally married to someone other than her daughter's father but she has not lived with him for over five years. She was cohabitating with her daughter's father at the time of her conception and birth and they lived together for the first 2 1/2 years of the child's life. Her daughter's father passed away in March of 2016. Her daughter's grandparent's are not being particularly cooperative about helping establishing paternity but did claim their son's daughter as a dependent on their 2016 tax return.

So now roughly a year after her daughter's father died she wants to get his name on the birth certificate as her daughter's father to establish paternity so her daughter can request Social Security and VA benefits, her daughter's father was a disabled Iraq War veteran.

Was she married to her husband when the child was born? That would have been the presumed father. If not, and she was with the bio dad but were unmarried then yes she would have had to establish paternity.

How did the grandparents claim the grandchild as a dependent on taxes?

Her best bet is to go talk to a lawyer. Many give free consultations.

 

[army judge]

Here are a few details of the situation.
She is still legally married to someone other than her daughter's father but she has not lived with him for over five years.

The man that she was LEGALLY married to at the time she gave birth to the child in question is the PUTATIVE father of that child.

Changing the name on the birth certificate isn't going t happen with a form or few words.

Hold on, more answers coming below.

So now roughly a year after her daughter's father died she wants to get his name on the birth certificate as her daughter's father to establish paternity so her daughter can request Social Security and VA benefits, her daughter's father was a disabled Iraq War veteran.

She needs to first establish that the dead man is the baby's father, not merely allege it.

To overcome the legal presumption that her husband is the father, she'll have to find one of the deceased man's relatives (mother, father, sibling, or another child of his), and get that person to agree to do DNA testing, along with the child.

If the genetic tests PROVe that the dead man is the father, she can then contact social security to apply for benefits for a surviving child of a deceased parent.

That presumes the dead man has enough qualifying benefit quarters for SS to pay out against the claim.

Don't worry about that now, because she has to FIRST prove by DNA testing that dead man fathered her child.

To establish that, read how its done in Florida:
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Fatherhood in Florida
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How Is Paternity Established|Florida Paternity Laws|FL Family Law FAQ
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Paternity Law: Defining Paternity Suits under Florida Law
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