Legal Question in Family Law in New York
Fiance's baby's day in jail seeking paternity
My Fiance' had a child by a man who got put in jail. He is in their for 15 years. They are from NY but the baby was born in VA. He is not on the birth certificate. He is serving her papers to get the court to order a dna test inorder to prove he is the father so that he can obtain visitation rights while in prison. He has never had any contact with the two year old and I would love to adopt her as soon as I marry her. What can we do?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Fiance's baby's day in jail seeking paternity
Congratulations on your upcoming marriage.
Your fiance must comply with the court order to submit to DNA testing. But she can likely have the testing done in her current home town. She should look to have the baby's sample (a swab of the inner cheek, no need to break the skin) taken in her home town.
Regarding visitation, she will be unable to prevent visitation, but arranging the matter may be difficult and that is something to stress before the court. It might be helpful to have your own attorney to represent her interests so that she is under no obligation to travel to NY. (Of course, if the convict's mother is unreliable, that must be considered as well. She is the person most likely designated to deliver the baby for visitation.)
It may be possible to have a delay in visitation until the baby is older.
Regarding adoption, you will want to have the convict agree to the adoption. In the absence of his agreement, it is still possible and not unlikely, but you need a very convincing lawyer!
You are welcome to ask any follow-up questions by email.
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