I am 46 years old and my father who I have known all my life is 64 and dying of cancer. On my birth certificate his name was withheld due to my mother being a minor and my grandmother who is now deceased kept his name and incorretly put his state and race on the birth certificate wrong. All these years I have had a relationship with him and my mother does ackowledge him as the natural father. They never married and both are remarried and live in different states. The problem is I have come home to my home state Kansas to tell him good-bye and now he wants my name on the birth certificate. He is 1/4 th Eskimo and gets money from the pipeline and tells me he cannot pass this on to me if his name is not on the birth certificate. He is very poor I don't know how much he gets a month. I do know if I can determine parentage with my father being Native American and born in Fairbanks Alaska that my children may get free education. I am not sure if this is all true but I would like to find out. I have been to vitial statisics and clerk of the district court in Topeka Kansas where I was born but they don't even know how to proceed except with a court order. I live in Indiana and I was given a free airline ticket to come say good-bye to my dad. I told my dad it dosen't matter but he is adamant and wants this done. I have drawn up an affidavit and he said he would sign it but I don't know if that will stand up because vital statistic told me I can only change the brith certificate with a court order. The other problem is my dad will entering hospice in the next few days and may only last another week. Any advise would be grealty appreciated!!

Well the first thing you NEED to do is get an preserve a blood or tissue sample, You cannot do this, but his doctor can. So, even if he does pass before you can complete the legal paperwork, you have a sample to do testing on.

To change the birth certificate WILL require a court order. But you may be able to handle the paperwork yourself. Talk to a clerk at Family Court and see what you need to do.

It is true that you have to have a court order. As for the free education they have to be a certain percentage and if he is the only naitive american link I don't think by the time it trickles down to your children (they will only be 1/16) that it is enough I think though I'm not posititve you have to be able to prove at least 1/8 to even get grants. But anyway have him ask his doctor to get a blood sample to save and in the mean time you get a court date to petition for the DNA test.