texasgal81
New Member
I have a feeling this might be a new legal question / issue that no one here has ever heard or dealt with before. I don't even know how to begin to have this messed cleaned up and fixed so I am hoping that someone here can start me off in the right direction.
A few years ago I found out (by accident really) that the man listed on my birth certificate is not actually my father. I didn't even know there was a man listed on my birth certificate. My mom was 16 when I was born and she chose not to have my biological father put on there. I know this for fact because my whole life I've used my original BC (a copy) and SS card for everything. My original BC has only my mother listed. My mother was not married when I was born so I took her maiden name, which, for the purpose of this post is Smith (and have carried it all my life).
About a year after I was born she married a man that was not my father. According to my mother's version, he wanted to adopt me and so they hired an attorney to start the legal process. (It's important to note that my biological father never did or ever has signed away his rights) The marriage did not work out and according to my mother, during the divorce she asked her attorney to stop the adoption process, and she was told it would be taken care of. I was younger than 3 I believe when they were divorced.
So a few years ago I received a benefits statement in the mail from the social security administration. It is addressed to my first name but it had the last name of Jones (or at least for this post that's what it will be). I instantly recognized the last name (it was the last name of the man my mother was married to after my birth) but I couldn't understand why I was associated with that name. I called the social security administration that same day and they informed me that they showed my legal last name as Jones and that it had legally been Jones since 1983 (I was born in 81). I immediately called my mother and that is when I found out all of the information about the adoption. I was shocked because I'd NEVER been told this before. She was very firm with me that she had asked her divorce attorney to stop the adoption process and she was sure that my last name was legally Smith. I also questioned my BC and she insisted that he was not listed as my father. After I hung up I pulled out all of my legal documents such as my social security card and my birth certificate just to 'comfort' myself. The documents that I had both had Smith listed. My social security card was the original from after my birth and my original birth certificate was a copy that I'd always used. That's when It really hit me.. The birth certificate I'd always had and used was a copy not an original. It did just have my mother on it and no father. So at some point there was no father on my birth certificate. I decided to order a new birth certificate just to be sure, and when it came in the mail I was stunned to see that it has Jones listed as my last name and my mother's first husband (the man she married after I was born) listed as my father. They were not married when I was born and she didn't even meet him until I was maybe 8 or 9 months old.
I still have no clue, nor does my mother (so she says) how this happened. My biological father and I have also discussed it and he is certain he never signed away any rights to me. For the time being I hired a family attorney and legally had my named changed back to Smith and I have straightened out the social security issues. You should have seen the look on that judge's face when my attorney and I had to explain the situation. Now, I'd like to have my birth certificate changed. My family attorney who handled the name change had no idea how to even go about fixing that. I've actually spoken to a few and they all look at me dumbfounded and have no idea how to help me because they don't understand how that could have happened either.
I'm 29 years old now and have a great relationship with my biological father. He is not at all pleased about this mess to say the least. My mother actually took him to court when I was 16 for child support and back child support (he'd never paid up to that point) and he had to pay it. He's not even on my birth certificate and never has been.. someone else it. Craziness I know. And, the man listed on my birth certificate lives in Mississippi now although I have no contact with him and haven't since my mother left him when I was a child. The only reason I know where he lives is because I looked him up.
I would just like to have this man taken off and have my real father added. Would anyone have any recommendations on how to go about this or can you recommend someone, an attorney maybe, you might be able to help me with this situation? Some people have suggested I try to get both to submit to a DNA test just to 'be sure' but that's really not necessary. Anyone can easily tell that my dad and I are father and daughter. We are identical in everyway, so much so that it's scary sometimes.
Anyway, any advice would be helpful at this point.
A few years ago I found out (by accident really) that the man listed on my birth certificate is not actually my father. I didn't even know there was a man listed on my birth certificate. My mom was 16 when I was born and she chose not to have my biological father put on there. I know this for fact because my whole life I've used my original BC (a copy) and SS card for everything. My original BC has only my mother listed. My mother was not married when I was born so I took her maiden name, which, for the purpose of this post is Smith (and have carried it all my life).
About a year after I was born she married a man that was not my father. According to my mother's version, he wanted to adopt me and so they hired an attorney to start the legal process. (It's important to note that my biological father never did or ever has signed away his rights) The marriage did not work out and according to my mother, during the divorce she asked her attorney to stop the adoption process, and she was told it would be taken care of. I was younger than 3 I believe when they were divorced.
So a few years ago I received a benefits statement in the mail from the social security administration. It is addressed to my first name but it had the last name of Jones (or at least for this post that's what it will be). I instantly recognized the last name (it was the last name of the man my mother was married to after my birth) but I couldn't understand why I was associated with that name. I called the social security administration that same day and they informed me that they showed my legal last name as Jones and that it had legally been Jones since 1983 (I was born in 81). I immediately called my mother and that is when I found out all of the information about the adoption. I was shocked because I'd NEVER been told this before. She was very firm with me that she had asked her divorce attorney to stop the adoption process and she was sure that my last name was legally Smith. I also questioned my BC and she insisted that he was not listed as my father. After I hung up I pulled out all of my legal documents such as my social security card and my birth certificate just to 'comfort' myself. The documents that I had both had Smith listed. My social security card was the original from after my birth and my original birth certificate was a copy that I'd always used. That's when It really hit me.. The birth certificate I'd always had and used was a copy not an original. It did just have my mother on it and no father. So at some point there was no father on my birth certificate. I decided to order a new birth certificate just to be sure, and when it came in the mail I was stunned to see that it has Jones listed as my last name and my mother's first husband (the man she married after I was born) listed as my father. They were not married when I was born and she didn't even meet him until I was maybe 8 or 9 months old.
I still have no clue, nor does my mother (so she says) how this happened. My biological father and I have also discussed it and he is certain he never signed away any rights to me. For the time being I hired a family attorney and legally had my named changed back to Smith and I have straightened out the social security issues. You should have seen the look on that judge's face when my attorney and I had to explain the situation. Now, I'd like to have my birth certificate changed. My family attorney who handled the name change had no idea how to even go about fixing that. I've actually spoken to a few and they all look at me dumbfounded and have no idea how to help me because they don't understand how that could have happened either.
I'm 29 years old now and have a great relationship with my biological father. He is not at all pleased about this mess to say the least. My mother actually took him to court when I was 16 for child support and back child support (he'd never paid up to that point) and he had to pay it. He's not even on my birth certificate and never has been.. someone else it. Craziness I know. And, the man listed on my birth certificate lives in Mississippi now although I have no contact with him and haven't since my mother left him when I was a child. The only reason I know where he lives is because I looked him up.
I would just like to have this man taken off and have my real father added. Would anyone have any recommendations on how to go about this or can you recommend someone, an attorney maybe, you might be able to help me with this situation? Some people have suggested I try to get both to submit to a DNA test just to 'be sure' but that's really not necessary. Anyone can easily tell that my dad and I are father and daughter. We are identical in everyway, so much so that it's scary sometimes.
Anyway, any advice would be helpful at this point.
