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    Lashay34's Avatar
    Lashay34 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Nov 1, 2013, 10:47 AM
    Legitimizing a child
    Can a mother force a father to legitimize a child?
    smoothy's Avatar
    smoothy Posts: 25,492, Reputation: 2853
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    #2

    Nov 1, 2013, 11:07 AM
    Mother can't... but if she brings a paternaty case against the father through the court... the court will, assuming a DNA test proves he is the father.

    He should not admit to anything until the DNA results come in. And after they are in...the acuracy is so high its essentially impossible to disprove.
    ScottGem's Avatar
    ScottGem Posts: 64,966, Reputation: 6056
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    #3

    Nov 1, 2013, 11:48 AM
    Define what you mean by legitimize? A court can force a father to be identified as the legal father.
    Lashay34's Avatar
    Lashay34 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #4

    Nov 1, 2013, 12:11 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by ScottGem View Post
    Define what you mean by legitimize? A court can force a father to be identified as the legal father.
    Does the father have to sign papers legimitizing the kid. Can the father voluntarily sign over his rights
    Lashay34's Avatar
    Lashay34 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #5

    Nov 1, 2013, 12:14 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by smoothy View Post
    Mother can't... but if she brings a paternaty case against the father through the court... the court will, assuming a DNA test proves he is the father.

    He should not admit to anything until the DNA results come in. And after they are in...the acuracy is so high its essentially impossible to disprove.
    He is the biological father but can he be forced to legitimize the kid
    smoothy's Avatar
    smoothy Posts: 25,492, Reputation: 2853
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    #6

    Nov 1, 2013, 12:18 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by Lashay34 View Post
    He is the biological father but can he be forced to legitimize the kid
    You take him to court for a paternity case, they prove if he is actually his child with a DNA test... and they do if it is...

    You as an individual can't force someone to accept a child as theirs absent a DNA test to prove its his.

    One persons "word" its theirs isn't enough proof. Far too many people have wrongfully been names parents that weren't in the past...a DNA test is simple...and its results are irrefutible. They are that accurate and definative.
    smoothy's Avatar
    smoothy Posts: 25,492, Reputation: 2853
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    #7

    Nov 1, 2013, 12:23 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by Lashay34 View Post
    Does the father have to sign papers legitimizing the kid. Can the father voluntarily sign over his rights
    If he's smart.. he will get the DNA test done to prove it first. Its simple and it leaves no doubt. If you do it through a court..they will establish him being the legal and biological father...and you would be able to collect child support.

    If you are smart you will want the DNA test done now too.....if its established through the court you can file for shild support much quicker. Since the DNA test would usually be done before they would impose it anyway. And if its done he can't later contest it.....a signature on a piece of paper proves little legally.

    Santa Claus could sign it...but if Santa Claus claimed it wasn't his a few months later and a DNA test proved it wasn't.....the signature means nothing. If that analogy makes any sense to you.

    Prove it legally and definitively now...and if there are problems in the future...you won't have to do it later.
    ScottGem's Avatar
    ScottGem Posts: 64,966, Reputation: 6056
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    #8

    Nov 1, 2013, 01:21 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by Lashay34 View Post
    Does the father have to sign papers legimitizing the kid. Can the father voluntarily sign over his rights
    This still doesn't define what you mean by legitimize. If you want our help you need to answer our questions.

    But no, the father cannot just voluntarily sign over his rights. There is a myth that a parent can just sign over their rights, but its only a myth. Only a court can terminate rights, and they will rarely do so. There is a sticky at the top of this forum that discusses that.
    AK lawyer's Avatar
    AK lawyer Posts: 12,592, Reputation: 977
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    #9

    Nov 1, 2013, 04:38 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by ScottGem View Post
    This still doesn't define what you mean by legitimize. ...
    "legitimate
    ...
    4.​Lawfully begotten, i.e., born to a legally married couple.
    ..."

    OP means by the word, not doubt, to make legitimate. Statutes in various states provide that sigining an affidavit of paternity will also do the trick. Knowing what state law says in this instance depends upon identifying the state in which the child was born.

    "legitimize
    ...
    Verb

    legitimize (third-person singular simple present legitimizes, present participle legitimizing, simple past and past participle legitimized)
    1.(transitive) to make legitimate.
    ..."
    To answer OP's question, no, one cannot be forced to sign an affidavit of paternity. He can, however, be adjudicated to be the father, which might have the same effect.
    ScottGem's Avatar
    ScottGem Posts: 64,966, Reputation: 6056
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    #10

    Nov 1, 2013, 06:02 PM
    I know what legitimize means, but I want to know what the OP means by it. Only when we understand that, can we properly answer the question
    Fr_Chuck's Avatar
    Fr_Chuck Posts: 81,301, Reputation: 7692
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    #11

    Nov 1, 2013, 09:04 PM
    A man can not be forced to sign any papers.

    A father an not sign over rights ( that is a myth)

    A court and determine he is the father and declare man the father, and order child support

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