Paternity Test

[chriss]

My son just found out a couple of months ago that he has a child. The last 12months the mother of this child told him that he was not the father. Now they are talking again, and she told him that he is the father. My son is in the Army, he said that he was told all he had to do is walk in to the hosptial and tell them the story and they will put him on the baby's birth certificate. We live in Texas. The baby was born in Texas. So my question is: Can you really go in to a hospital and tell them that you are the father of the baby and they will put you on a birth certificate without no documentation on being the real father. I keep telling him that he has to have some kind of documentation that he is the father of this child. Or he will have to go thru an adoption to be legally be put on the birth certificate.

 

[jacksgal]

No he cannot! Paternity must be established. The Army and he can discuss how this will happen.

 

[ohiogranny]

Mom and baby are not in the hospital now. He could have signed an affidavit of paternity after the birth, but he will be wise to petition the court where mom and baby live for paternity, parenting time and child support. The court will order and recongnize the paternity test and set up times for him to have his child, and determine CS payments...IF he is the father.

Did mom tell him that stuff about the BC? If so, she could be trying to get him to sign off as dad, which if he is not, and she knows it, it's fraud.

 

[chriss]

No mom did not tell him. He said that the Army told him that is all he had to do. I do not believe that anyone can just walk in to a hospital and be put on a childs birth cerfiticate. If that was the case then there would not be a lot of adoptions.

 

[irish223]

In Texas, it is possible to sign the AOP at this time without court intervention or a DNA test. However, I COMPLETELY agree that it would be foolish to do it this way without a DNA test. This group outlines the procedures:
http://www.fathers4kids.com/html/FathersRights.htm?article_id=41

IF I DO NOT ESTABLISH PATERNITY IN THE HOSPITAL, CAN THE MOTHER AND I DO IT LATER WITHOUT GOING TO COURT?

Yes. You and your child?s mother can sign an acknowledgment of Paternity form at a later date. It must include the signatures of both you and the mother. If you sign the form after the hospital has already mailed the birth certificate, you will be charged a fee for changing the birth certificate to include your name as the father of the child.

A completed Acknowledgment of Paternity form should be sent to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, 1100 W. 49th Street, Austin, TX, 78756-3191. The Bureau of Vital Statistics will not charge a fee to file this form. After both parents have signed an AOP, no court proceeding on the issue of paternity is needed, and you can be held responsible for child support. You will also have the right to seek a court order for visitation or custody. The decision to voluntarily acknowledge paternity should not be taken lightly because it is an important one for both you and your child. If you are absolutely sure that you are the father of the child, and the mother agrees, you should both voluntarily acknowledge paternity.

 

[Duranie]

He should demand a DNA test. He has no idea if that child is his.