Legal Question in Family Law in Tennessee

Re: Question pertaining to birth certificates

It is my understanding that you may not put "the actual" father's name on the birth certificate. A Tennessee statute provides: "a) A man is rebuttably presumed to be the father of a child if... The man and the child's mother are married or have been married to each other and the child is born during the marriage or within three hundred (300) days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce." Therefore, I believe that in order to get the true father's name on the birth certificate, one of you will have to file a petition to determine parentage (i.e. paternity) so that the presumption that the husband is the father is rebutted. My suggestion is to talk to the local juvenile court about this and talk to an attorney in your area familiar with paternity cases. The hospital runs into this all the time and someone there may be able to provide some information as well. Best of luck and congratulations to the parents to be.