Legal Question in Family Law in South Carolina
Blocked visitation by unwed ex
My ex-girlfreind and I have a child together and lived together as a family for three years. In May I left after I found out she was unfaithful. Shortly after I left she went and finally got the birth certificate done on our son, only she wrote in ''father unknown'' in the box. I found out after the fact. Now she will not let me get my son, unless I sign off on paternity. She has been acting irrational for about a month and a half, about the same time that she started with this crap about signing off on paternity. I don't even know what that means, I was there at his birth, supported her during pregnancy and until she could work again 9 months after he was born. He has my last name and I filled out some paperwork at the hospital, but apparently it was not for the birth certificate.
She says that legally I have no rights to him because I won't sign off on paternity. I do not want to sign because she is irrational, and I think she is up to something.
Question: Is she correct that I have no legal rights to my son, simply because she snuck in and had his birth certificate done without my name on it? Or that I have to sign off on paternity to be able to see him?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Blocked visitation by unwed ex
If you are the child's father, then you certainly have rights to the child. However, if she will not cooperate, then you may need to take her to Court to force her to allow you to exercise your rights. If you do not push the issue, then she can continue to attempt to dictate to you how things will be.
These are complex issues, and it is important that they be handled correctly. Therefore, it is important that you consult an experienced family law attorney to find out what options are available to you based on the facts of your particular case.
If you need more information, you can visit my family law blog (www.SCFamilyLaw.com) or our website (www.StevensFirm.com). I wish you the best of luck.
Ben Stevens
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