Legal Question in Family Law in Oregon

Renoucing paternity -- with mother's OK. Cannot be done.

Unless done in the context of a legal proceeding for another man to adopt your child (and by doing so replace you as the person responsible for supporting the child), you cannot simply "denounce" or "renounce" your paternity of the child (assuming you have already been established as the child's legal father). And this is true even if you make a deal with the mother and pay her a whole lot money and she promises that she'll never, ever bother you again. The law simply does not allow such agreements to be binding and enforceable.

In essence, a child has a legal right to be supported by both parents. Mother cannot "sell-out" the child's right in exchange from a lump-sum payment of money from father to mother.

Once it has been determined that you are the legal father of the child, you will be subject to a child support liability (or the potential thereof) until the child is at least 18 (and even beyond age 18 in a number of states). The only way around that is to either find some other man to take over and become the child's father (by adoption), or for you to die. But even if you die, the child (if still in minor in need of parental support) would have a claim against your estate.

Good luck.

LDG