Birth Certificate When the Father Is Absent?

Hi, if he doesn't sign the birth certificate, then it'll remain blank. My birth certificate just has my mom's name on it, not my dad's. I hope this helps :-)

The father is not required to sign the birth certificate.. You fill out all of the information including his name if you want it there... if not leave it blank... it is not requested or required... only the mothers...

YOU have this choice to make.

1) The hospital will NOT list a father on the certificate - unless you ARE MARRIED the hospital will not and can not list the fathers name on the birth certificate.

2) They WILL give you paperwork for the father to fill out to have his name recorded

3) You can give the child ANY last name you'd like - doesn't have to be yours OR his (I used my mothers maiden name - but I could have even made up a last name - they don't care).

** THINK about this - do you WANT him on the birth certificate? Are you planning on going for child support? IF SO - then you must realize he may (even just for spite) go for some sort of custody.

If you intend to have NO contact with him - not even support, then it might be good to not have a father recorded. If you ever got married & wanted your husband to adopt the child it will be simple IF there is not father listed on the birth certificate.

when I had my son 9 years ago - you could write the father's name in or not - think about whether you want the father permanently in the child's life - you can always tell the child, but if its on the birth certificate theres no going back with out a court battle...plus if you remarry in the future and that man tries to adopt the child - the father would have to sign a paper giving up parental rights if his name is on the b. certificate - you can do it without him there - just make sure you want to.

Keep him off the birth certificate. It will be alot less hassle when you find Mr. Right and he can adopt the child a lot easier. It's not worth the $$$ in child support. (Unless he is a billionaire)
I wish I had done that with my first.
Good Luck!

You could put Santa Claus down on that line, and give the child any last name you wish. It does not make it legal in vermont unless he willfully signs a parentage form, or is ordered by the courts. He can also be entered by default, with a court order. This would happen if he did not respond to the States request for cooperation. In the state of Vermont the CHILD has 21 YEARS to establish parentage.

If you want to be apart of the baby's life I would take him to court for custody and child support that way they can give him a dna test and he will have his name on he birth certificate. Girl I know it's hard but hey. Anyways we really don't need a man anyway, what I believe is if they man enough to lay in the bed with us they are man enough to take care of there baby

i had this problem with my first daughter, even thought the fether was involved he was unable to get to the hospital to sign the papers. I just told them who he was and they put his name on the certificate. i don't know your story, but if you ever want or need financial assistance for your child by the father, it should be noted somewhere that he is indeed the father. Maybe you could get him to at least sign the Acknowledgement of Paterninty papers. Godd luck with this!

All I can tell you is my personal experience with this. When my oldest daughter was born I chose NOT to put the father on her certificate. now I regret that. As much of a loser as he was and still is. It is a nightmare to get him on there now. And even though at the time I didn't want anything to do with him, support, visits, etc..... I did change my mind about the support. We needed it and she deserved it and he should be responsible for it. I have never been able to get him to court to get him on the certificate. And he has fought me about it all these years (17). He is STILL not on the certificate and until he is on there and DNA is done he will never have to pay support.

I would suggest you put his name on there. I don't think he has to sign it. If he does need to, make sure you find him and get it legal. It is one less battle to fight later.

Just my humble opinion.

M.

Lot's of babies are born with out the father being there/involved, therefor never signing a certificate. I would assume that it would just be blank on the fathers side, unless sometime in the future he decides to sign it (if they are allowed to do that later). The only thing that is really important is that you are there for the child in every way that it needs! :)

A.

Hi S. -

My baby's father last saw us when my girl was 5 days old. He refused to sign the birth certificate unless his name was the only last name listed..... so to punctuate the relationship, he walked out and hasn't been heard from since. In Stamford, CT the Birth Certificate lists : Father's name, Birthplace and Dat of Birth as "Not Stated" . In any case in CT if you are not married to the father, in the hospital they give you and additional form whereby the father assumes and signs for paternity. Without that, they cannot list a father if you are not married.

Hope that helps, and god bless.

- J.

if the father is not there then the only part that has to filled out is the part with you name and stuff. in most cases the hospetal will cross that part out if the father is not going to be there

This is what the nurse told me when I had my son . . .you can always have him added later, but you can't have him removed. I would leave it blank until you are MORE THAN %110 sure what you want to do. There is no turning back after you have him added. AND YOU CAN GET support without him being named on the birth certificate!!!

This depends on what you want. I am a single mother by choice and my son's certificate is blank where the father's name should be. I'm not sure which state you're giving birth in, but I was also told that unless you're married, you need to prove paternity before they'll put a name on the certificate. Now, the real issue is, will you be pursuing child support? Then it makes a big difference. Since I'm a choice mom, there is no child support to pursue so it doesn't really matter. If you do want the financial support in the future, you're first going to have to establish paternity after the baby is born if his name isn't on the certificate. The flip side to this is it makes it much easier for him to vie for custody. Again, it really depends on what you want out of the father. If you're fine without his involvement on any leve, then leave his name off and spare yourself some trouble. It will force him through court if he wants access to the baby which he's less likely to do. however, if you do want his involvement with the baby and financially, speak to the administrator at your hospital to find out how they handle it, if yhey'll allow you to name the father on the certificate if he's not present, etc. It'll make it easier for you legally in the long run

This happened to me; the birth certificate says no information on the father. And believe it or not, the father can sign down the road, if you want, but I actually kept my son's father off when he didn't want any involvement due to his stupidity. But, I do know that it is easier to go after the father for child support if his name is on the birth certificate. Without his name on it, though, I was still able to get child support, but through the government (public assistance is child support), and the government bills the father, and I do not have to worry about any interchanging. Hopefully my sons father wakes up down the road, which doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. My honest opinion would to keep the name off due to the fact that you will be the sole custody of the child,and you can still fight for child support,and get the court to supoena the father for a blood test, even if the father does not want to sign. I hope this helps...

I went through this same situation. Unless you are married, the only way his name will be on the birth certificate is if he comes to the hospital and signs an afidavid which means his name can be put on the certificate. According to what you said, he will not be there, so his name will not appear on the birth certificate. By the way, I am so sorry that you have to go through this without him but I'm guessing it is better for you and your baby. Keep your head up and get ready for your precious gift to arrive. Take care. By the way, I read one of your responses that said you could just add the father's name and I don't know if that is how things used to work, but like I said my daughter is 3 and that is how things worked three years age. As a matter of fact, my friend just had a baby about a month ago and the father was not present and his name is on the birth certificate.

Hi S.. I've been in a similar situation. When I gave birth to my second son, the father wasn't able to be there (we're still toghether) to sign the birth certificate. I asked the nurse what to do to put him on it. She told me that we have to go to the City Hall (or town hall, depending on where you live). I have to be there to tell the clerks that yes he is the father, and I have to show ID to prove i am the mother, then he can sign the birthcertificate and be added on. it cost $25 (in worcester, MA).

since you aren't with the father, you can ask him to be there to sign it (depending on how you two get along now that you've split), or if he don't want to be there for the actual birth, then i'd call your city/town hall and ask them if he'd be able to come with you after and be put on it and how much, if anything, will it cost. I know here in my state that it usually takes about 1 week after the birth before the certificate gets to the city/town hall. then anytime after that you can go add the father to it.

i hope this helps you. and Congrats and good luck with the new baby.

A.

Hi S.,

the baby's father does not have to be present nor involved to have his name on the birth certificate. You can just list the dad's name on the birth certificate, add yours and you sign it. It will be valid.

I have a 10 year old son and his dad was not in our lives after the birth, but he is listed on the birth certificate.

This is important because your son may one day want to know who his dad is and the information will be a matter of public record.

Dear S.,

I was in the same thing as you are about 3 years, when i took my kids father to court for child support I had the dna test done to prove he was the father the courts sent an order to the BC place in albany that his name must be put on my twins BC and I was sent a copy so it can be change ,even if you get back together it still can be changed

S.,
I've got a little bit different perspective on your situation. With my oldest son I put his father on the birth certificate even though I knew full well he may not ever take an interest in my sons life. At the same time, I had him sign a paternity affidavit. Fast forward 6 years. I'm now married to a wonderful man and the only father my son has ever known. My husband would like to adopt my son but his biological father has disappeared off the grid. I haven't heard from him in over 3 years and despite efforts can not locate him. Some states allow for termination of parental right by newspaper service. However, the State of Delaware has no case law on the matter and I can't find an attorney to tackle this issue with me. So until he shows up or I find him, we're stuck in limbo. He still has parental rights even though I never took him to court for support, and he has no court ordered rights.

It's just something to think about. If I could do it over, I would have left him off the birth certificate. He has never made an effort to be a father to my son and I don't expect he ever will.

Good luck!
T.

I went through the same thing. I asked a friend who was in family law what she thought I should do. Try and get the father to sign, or just let it go.

She told me that if I wanted his name on the birth certificate and he tried to deny the child, I would have to pay for whatever it took to prove he was the father.

If I did not put his name on the certificate, it would just be blank and if later on down the road the guy tried to make contact or wanted custody or visitation or whatever, then the finacial burden would be on him to prove he was the father.

Hope this helps!

S. beth