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ammedlin1 · Sep 17, 2014, 06:11 AM

Is that the only way, I live in Memphis TN and have the same concern? I can't afford to get married so I want him to have parental rights the same as mine. "Adopt"

ammedlin1 · Sep 17, 2014, 06:17 AM

Hi my question for you today is, if your nit married to a man who is not the father of your child could they adopt the child as there own. Have the same parental rights. I live in Memphis TN and don't have the money to marry. The father part on the child's birth certificate is marked unknown. Please help

J_9 · Sep 17, 2014, 06:36 AM

The biological father would have to relinquish is parental rights. It isn't expensive to get married in Memphis, (I live in Tipton County) why can't you get married?

smoothy · Sep 17, 2014, 06:38 AM

If you don't have the money to get married... how are you going to afford to live which is far, far more expensive and isn't a one time expense.

J_9 · Sep 17, 2014, 06:46 AM

The cost for a marriage license in Shelby County (Memphis) is $97.50. The cost drops to $37.50 if you attend 4 hours of premarital counseling by a qualified instructor. Once you are married you need to wait a year before you can petition for him to adopt. The biological father, even though unlisted on the birth certificate, will need to relinquish parental rights before the adoption can take place.

AK lawyer · Sep 17, 2014, 09:03 AM

The cost of a marriage license is trivial as compared to the cost of an adoption.

However once the two of you are married, your husband might want to adopt the child. Without adoption, he would merely be the step-father, and not legally related to the child (and would not, by virtue of being your spouse, have "parental rights" anyway).

ScottGem · Sep 17, 2014, 12:10 PM

Looks like you originally piggybacked on another thread and your posts were merged.

Your boyfriend needs to legally adopt your child. As others have noted, it is not expensive to get married, but an adoption may be much more expensive.

AK lawyer · Sep 17, 2014, 12:20 PM

Originally Posted by ScottGem

Your boyfriend needs to legally adopt your child. As others have noted, ...

As J_9 also noted, the BF could adopt after the parties are married.

cdad · Sep 17, 2014, 01:13 PM

Does the bio father know that he has a child?

J_9 · Sep 17, 2014, 04:15 PM

Does the bio father know that he has a child?

This is the important part. The biological father will need to voluntarily relinquish his paternal rights. In Memphis, if the father is unknown, you will have to have all partners tested.