Legal Question in Family Law in Ohio

Re: Fathers Birth Rights

The fact that your name is on the birth certificate is certainly a major advantage. Since if she ever attempted to have the child adopted, you would have the right to be at least notified of the court action. Then you could intervene.

The answer to your question about your rights beyond that statement is not so straightforward. I am assuming the matter has never gone to court on a child support issue. If that's true your rights are more theoretical at this point. Since she can legally tell you to go you know where if you try to insist on visitation. That's because there are no orders to enforce.

I am not sure about the specific organization you asked about. However, I assume that you accessed LawGuru through the Internet and have a WEB browser. If so, type in the URL (and this is no joke) http://www.dogpile.com

This is the website for a meta search engine that I have found very useful. At the search window I typed in "fathers birth rights" and got a great many hits. There are a bunch of organizations that probably will fit your need for assistance, or at least information. The particular organization you asked about may be listed there as well, I didn't check them all.

Jonathan Schiff

Self employed

605 Rose Hill Ave

Re: Fathers Birth Rights

I have read Mr. Schiff's reply, and I disagree with his analysis. If you have never been adjudicated as the father of the child and the child is not the product of the marriage, you have absolutely no legal rights with respect to the child until a court says otherwise. In essense, this means that the child's mother can take her out of state, deny you any parenting time, and do whatever she wishes as custodian.

I suggest that you file a paternity action in juvenile court along with a request for shared parenting. You can obtain the necessary forms by contacting the juvenile court clerk in your county. Ask the court for an order of paternity (you may have to undergo DNA testing), and to keep the visitation times at status quo. This will likely reduce any child support obligation you may have.

Obviously, the mother is going to be upset with your action, and will try to stick you with child support. If you truly want to raise the child as its father, though, trust the system to calculate appropriate support and push for as much parenting time as you can get. Good luck.

Curtis J. Hamilton

Neel Wilson & Clem

9 South Main Street