Can someone please help?- my daughters father has not been in her life for 6 years which is all her life. He is not on her birth certificate either. He has recently heard that me an my boyfriend are getting married and her biological father has now applied to get his name on her birth certificate. Any ideas why? What can he gain from this? Can my boyfriend adopt my daughter when we're married before he gets his name on her BC? He has never paid maintenance an comes from a family of strange people who have either got mental issues (his mum tried to take an overdose) and his dad an sister are in jail. He also has a really big record for domestic violence on a number of x girlfriends including myself. Any help greatly appreciated thanks. Xx

Where are you located?

As noted, your location makes a large difference, the rules in France or England will not be the same as in the US.

Normally in the US, you will have to get his permission for your new husband to adopt the child. Without him signing his rights away for the adoption, normally it will not happen.

I see no reason to have name added to birth certificate, but I can see a reason to prove paternity, and that is to file for visitation. He has the right to do so, and while the court may order short supervised visits he would get visits.

Next of course I am sure his family was strange when you meet him, and you choose to have a child with him.

His abuse, that you can prove in court by police reports and arrests and court action, will hurt him in court. But will not stop him from being proven the father or start visits.
It will allow normally you to get supervised visits order perhaps, or enough to require all exchages of the child to be done public, perhaps at fire house or police dept

Also if there is no child support order in place, he does not owe any support to be late on.

Why has he applied for paternity, I can make some guesses. Most likely he doesn't want to allow the adoption. Why he doesn't, that I can't tell you.

His filing for paternity is an unnecessary step though, because the courts would likely require that you contact him for permission for the adoption whether he's on the birth certificate or not. It just helps him prevent you from trying to sneak the adoption through.

If I were you, I would file for child support. If he's forced to pay support, he may be more willing to allow the adoption since that will end his support obligation.

If you have proof of the domestic violence problems, then you should be able to get visits limited to supervised visitation is any and to keep him away from you.

... Can my boyfriend adopt my daughter when we're married before he gets his name on her BC? ...

No. Many states require that you have been married for some time (perhaps a year) before your husband can file a step-parent adoption petition. But, in any event, you would have to give the child's father notice of the adoption petition. It might be possible for the court to find that the father's consent may be waived; but you still have to give him notice.