Legal Question in Family Law in Oregon

ANSWER:

Yes. After the baby is born, you can join with the mother in signing a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity form, which will then be filed with the Oregon Center for Health Statistics. The procedure will result in your being deemed as the legal father of the child and will result in your name being listed as "father" on the child's birth certificate. It will also result in your being potentially liable for 21 years of child support (but will give you no rights of custody or parenting time).

However, you would be making a very big mistake to voluntarily acknowledge paternity, at least not without having first consulted with a compelent family law lawyer in your area.

Also, you and the mother ought to seriously consider releasing the child for adoptive placement --- thus giving the child a lease on life that the child deserves, and that cannot be provided by you and your girlfriend --- rather than inflicting yourselves on the product of an unplanned pregnancy by unmarried parents who are still children themselves, with neither one being fully competent emotionally, financially, educationally, etc,, to take on the serious burdens and responsibilities of parenthood. Too bad for the the poor child who teenage parents -- out of immaturity and selfishness for themselves -- lack to ability, foresight, wisdom and compassion to understand what is best for hte child and to do the right thing.

LAWRENCE D. GORIN

http://ldgorin.justia.net/index.com

Law Office of L.D. Gorin

6700 S.W. 105th Ave., Suite 104

Beaverton, Oregon 97008

Phone: 503-716-8756

Fax: 503-646-1128

E-mail: [email protected]