My Wife Recently Passed Away, I Never Signed Our Children's Birth Certificates

Welcome to mamapedia, R..

I'm sorry for your loss. May her memory be eternal.

How old are your children?
Did your wife NOT name you as the father? I'm kinda confused with that one.

I don't understand how losing your identification could stop you from being named the biological father of the children - for BOTH birth's you didn't have identification? You lost it each time a child was born???? I kinda doubt that...

When my kids were born? NO IDENTIFICATION was needed to put your name on the birth certificate!

Get a paternity test done to determine you're the father. Petition the courts to add you to the birth certificates.

You need a lawyer. Don't lose your identification with the lawyer. Dude. Really? I'm calling troll

I’m so sorry for your loss. Did your wife not name you as the father? I do not believe my husband needed ID when my kids were born. Are you afraid someone will fight you for custody? As the birth father you should not have to worry about the birth certificates of your children.

Unless someone is fighting you for custody, I don't see an issue. I find it hard to believe you didn't sign the birth certificates because you lost your ID. My husband did not have to show ID when we did the birth certificate.

If this is real, I am truly sorry for your loss. My mother died when I was 5 and it's hard on a child to lose their mother at a young age. I hope you get your boys into counseling asap. Best wishes to you.

I am very sorry for your loss. I lost my husband suddenly and unexpectedly in 2015. It's just numbing and full of shock.

My suggestion is to see a lawyer.

Our attorney helped me through every legal step and made that part of my life easier. I did not have the issue you have but a good attorney can help.

I am so sorry for your loss. I have no advice except to consult an attorney who specializes in family law.

You need to talk to a lawyer who knows family law in your state.
You will probably need to take a paternity test for each child to prove you are their father.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I don't know what the laws in Indiana are, but in Illinois, my husband (the father) and I were not both required to sign the certificate. In fact, I signed our oldest's, and he signed our youngest's. Now, we were already married and there was no disputing who the father was.

Do you have a copy of their birth certificates? Is your name not on it? Is there simply no father listed?

To get a new birth certificate, we have to go to the county court house. You might try calling them and asking them what you need to do. If you need to consult a lawyer, fine, but I would at least ask. It might be less complicated than that.

I'm going to call troll on this one.

NONE of my births required ID for stating who the biological father was.
You had how many kids together before you were married? And EVERY TIME your girlfriend had a baby, you miraculously lost your ID? Give me a break.

on the off chance this is real? I'm truly sorry and you need to seek out a family lawyer to help you with this.

If this is true and your wife just died? I'm sorry for your loss. Talk to the attorney who is helping you with her estate to find out what to do.

Like others have said? We didn't have to have ID to sign or even state who the parents were on the birth certificate.

Please do a better job of keeping your ID cards safe and available. You'll need them over the next few months as you complete the issues with your wife's estate

Lost your I.D? Huh. How old are kids.

are they twins? weird to have lost your ID during two different births.

i suggest you speak to an attorney.
khairete
S.

You don't need ID to sign the birth certificate when a baby is born. Why didn't you and your wife put you down as the father when the boys were born? Did you not acknowledge at the time that they were your children? Were you not there at the hospital when they were born and your wife chose not to put your name down? Contact the Bureau of Vital Statistics. You may need your marriage license. You will have to establish paternity. You may have to sign a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity. You may have to take a paternity test. You may have to hire a lawyer and take legal action. The bureau of vital statistics will advise you what to do. You can also contact your state department of health to see what they say. If you have not had a relationship with your children all this time the state can cut off your parental rights.

A paternity test should be able to establish that you are the children's father. I have to say, I find it very odd that the certificate was blank, because I was not allowed to leave the hospital without giving them a name for my newborn child, and they also had to have the name of both parents at the time. They would not have allowed us to leave otherwise because the bureau of vital statistics needs that information for issuance of the birth certificate.

This same question appeared yesterday on DC Urban Moms and Dads, another online forum. If this is actually the same person, there were a lot of replies there. Big kudos to Mamapedia for being a kinder community -- many of the DCUM replies were pretty unkind to the poster. I think the DCUM version, which was longer, said that the father and mother were not married at the time of the birth (and didn't answer why the mother wouldn't have put down the father's name on the certificate at that time).

Talk to the agency that issues birth certificates and explain the situation and they should be able to tell you how to resolve it. I get that at the time of a death, administrative details can crop up that seem like a huge deal but most likely they can be dealt with, but you need to make that contact and get started.

I also see on DCUM another post (about "can my daughter make the softball team" that I'm sure was on Mamapedia recently. Do regular posters out there on Mamapedia think that people are just genuinely posting on several forums to get additional advice, or that there is something else going on?

Updated

This same question appeared yesterday on DC Urban Moms and Dads, another online forum. If this is actually the same person, there were a lot of replies there. Big kudos to Mamapedia for being a kinder community -- many of the DCUM replies were pretty unkind to the poster. I think the DCUM version, which was longer, said that the father and mother were not married at the time of the birth (and didn't answer why the mother wouldn't have put down the father's name on the certificate at that time).

Talk to the agency that issues birth certificates and explain the situation and they should be able to tell you how to resolve it. I get that at the time of a death, administrative details can crop up that seem like a huge deal but most likely they can be dealt with, but you need to make that contact and get started.

I also see on DCUM another post (about "can my daughter make the softball team" that I'm sure was on Mamapedia recently. Do regular posters out there on Mamapedia think that people are just genuinely posting on several forums to get additional advice, or that there is something else going on?