Legal Question in Family Law in Tennessee

Re: Father not on birth cerficate...mother's rights...

As of now, he has no legal rights relative to your daughter. He is not on the Birth Certificate and has not established paternity. In order for him to gain such rights, it is my belief that he will have to go to court and establish paternity and get visitation. Many such "fathers" do not do that becuase they know they will have to pay child support. If he does, however, get a lawyer and put on your proof of abuse. Keep all medical records and proof of his abuse. You may even want to secretly keep up with any criminal or other bad behavior so you can document your concerns in the future if necessary.

Also, there are ways to establish (or attempt to establish) a step-parent adoption, if you get married.

There are also laws about terminating parental rights based upon abandonment and you may wish to speak to a lawyer about that.

It would be a good idea for you to have a consultation with a lawyer about all of your concerns and perhaps the best type of lawyer would be one who handles contested adoptions on a regular basis because such a lawyer would likely be familiar with all the issues including the law on abandonment and termination of parental rights.