Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia

I don't care what he says now. Once the child is born he has an absolute duty to support that child if this indeed is his child. Whether he chooses to engage in any parental rights is up to him. And men have a different way of thinking once the child arrives in the world so he can change his mind.

Why does the father have to be notified at all? Its up to you to go after him for child support. If you are well off enough and don't want anything to do with him and he wants no contact then don't say a word. If you ever need any kind of public benefits though, the welfare authorities are going to require that a father of the child be named and they will go after him.

Note that if the child is born out of wedlock and is not legitimated by the father then the child cannot inherit. So if the man hits the lottery and is next day killed by a truck, your child cannot inherit any of the father's money.

And if you someday meet a man and get married and the new man wants to adopt the child, you will still have to have the biological father's rights terminated. Same thing if you choose to give the child up for adoption - the father's rights will have to be terminated unless the father consents. Fathers have a funny way of objecting when they did not know they had a child and the first contact they get is a termination petition from the court. When confronted with that, you would be surprised about the sudden father feelings men get.

Before your child is born, you have a lot to consider. Personally, I just don't understand this attitude in parents. If you got together long enough to create a baby then the parents, both parents, have an obligation to that baby. I can't help but think the child's life will be immeasurably enriched by the child knowing that it has 2 parents who love him. Doesn't mean that you and the biological have to even like each other or have anything to do with one another. But it does mean that you and biological father should have a cordial enough relationship so that you can cooperate on things regarding the welfare and upbringing of your child.

So whether you notify the father is up to you. Unless there is some kind of requirement that the father sign the birth certificate, then I don't think you have to say anything at all to the father.

Children who grow up without a father though may wonder and some go looking for their biological dad. I would keep basic information about the father together in case your child ever gets these urges. Also, there are medical reasons for this if your child has some kind of inherited condition.

Those would be my thoughts but I don't specialize in adoption/termination matters or general family law too much. Some practictioner who does this day in and day out may have a better take on this. Just to be safe, I would recommend that you look around and get a consult with a local family lawyer just to confirm what I have been saying. A 30 minute consult should not be terribly expensive and you will get peace of mind knowing what you should or should not do.

While it's up to you no law compels you to notify him, but regardless, he owes, under penalty of jail, 18 years of support. Since children do better with two parents than one, since you may need to find him if the child's medical history is needed to save the child's life, since he may later seek custody, and since if you meet someone and they want to adopt you will likely need to terminate his rights, you have many reasons to consider if you want to notify the father.