Legal Question in Family Law in California
Family law, & unwed fathers rights
My best friend is pregnant and has
just broken up with the father. She
claims that she doesn't want to list
him as the father on the birth
certificate because she worries that
he will try to abuse his rights as
father (including taking the child
without her consent and/or
knowledge). I worry that she will
not be able to collect child support at
a later date if she doesn't name him.
My first question is: Would she be
better off going to court to establish
paternity (for child support reasons),
and then establish sole custody for
herself? What rights does he have if
she doesn't go through the courts,
and he is not named as the father?
Would he be able to prevent her
from leaving the state in either
scenario? And also, she plans on
going back to school after the baby is
born, and has asked me if I would
assume temporary guardianship for a
few months. Would the father be
able to prevent this, whether he was
named as the father or not??
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Family law, & unwed fathers rights
Yes. If she doesn't establish paternity and ask the family law court for support, she can go to DCSS in her venue and ask them to collect from the bio father. Why would you be asked to be the guardian? Be careful.
Re: Family law, & unwed fathers rights
Your friend should consult with an attorney. It's not right to prevent the baby from knowing its father unless the father is abusive.
There are ways to prevent the father from taking the baby. But it needs to be done the right way, not through deceit, unless there are good grounds for being deceitful.
If she is planning on going to school and needs a guardian, it seems kind of cheap to give the baby to someone else to raise simply to avoid the father having a relationship with his child. Why can't the father help raise the child, unless he's abusive and will hurt the baby somehow?
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