Legal Question in Family Law in North Carolina

If a mother has custody of a child and the father is not on their birth certificate but pays child support and is in the childs life(child support is up to date and has never been behind and the vistitation and custody is agreed upon by both parties), can the mother leave the child in her will to her new husband? Who is not the biological father, but the biological father is alive?


Asked on 3/09/13, 11:38 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

No! You can't leave a child to someone in a will like the child is a piece of property. You can certianly express your opinion as to who should care for the child in your will but it won't carry any legal weight. If the father wants to take the child and is capable of caring for the child - that is where the child will most likely end up. If you want to insure that your new husband 'inherits' the child, you will need to get the fathers parental rights terminated. Based on your description, this would most likely mean the father would need to consent to his rights being terminated. The only real incentive you can bring to the table to get the father to consent to the termination of his parental rights is that he would no longer have to pay child support. If father agrees, you would then need to have your new husband adopt the child.

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Answered on 3/09/13, 3:27 pm


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