Legal Question in Family Law in California

No. Adoption only applies to non-biological parents. However, if there is no presumed father already in place, I am 98% sure you can both just go down to the county clerk and file a voluntary joint declaration of paternity, the same as is done in the hospital when an unmarried couple has a child together. For a fee you would then also be able to have a new birth certificate issued with you as the father. Even if I am mistaken and you cannot do a declaration of paternity this late in the game, I know for sure that you can obtain a stipulated judgment of paternity by filing a petition to establish paternity and getting a DNA test and stipulating to a judgment based on the results.

The best method to handle your situation is to file a paternity action and get a judgment of paternity issued by the court. That way it cannot be attacked in the future. You do not need a DNA paternity test if both parents agree. Good Luck, Pat McCrary