Legal Question in Family Law in New Hampshire

Removal of Parent from Childs Birth Certificate

My boyfriend has a daughter with another woman and wants to give up his rights as the childs father and remove his name from the birth certificate at the mothers request. What steps must be taken? Would he still have to pay child support if he is not considered to be the childs legal father? Would he be able to get a notorized letter with both his and the mothers signature stating that he would not have to pay anymore as he has given up his parental right?


Asked on 5/13/08, 12:35 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: Removal of Parent from Childs Birth Certificate

The mother's request is irrelevant; the child has the right to both parents and to be supported by them. A termination of Parental Rights requires a court proceeding. Notarized letters are not worth the paper they are written on. The court will not approve a termination without cause... they do not let people out of paying child support because then the State usually ends up paying the bill. IF someone is looking to ADOPT the child, then the court will likely approve his walking away.

This sounds like your boyfriend and his ex have a lot of growing up to do. If they are old enough to have children, then they are old enough to realize that they cannot just walk away from them, even if they want to. The child's rights come first, and the parents' wishes and desires are considered last. The court will not allow the child to only have one parent when it is entitled to two unless one parent is so much of a danger to the child that he or she should be kept away from any and all children.

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Answered on 5/13/08, 1:45 pm


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