Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois
My son's x girlfriend is pregnant. She says it is his, but others have told him she had been seeing someone else. He doesn't know for sure if it is his or not. He wants to take responsibility if it is his and has asked for a paternity test when the baby is born. What we need to know is how the birth cert. will work. He wants to baby to have his last name if it is his baby but the test results will take about a week. What should he do?
1 Answer from Attorneys
He needs to wait until the results of the DNA test come back. The last name on the birth certificate can always be changed by court order. He should not sign the parentage acknowledgement at the time of the birth to put his name on the birth certificate because that will make the DNA potentially irrelevant and he will be stuck supporting a child that is not his for the next 20 years or so.