How to Petition the Court for a Father's Rights
The United States does not have a standard definition for father in statutes across the country. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, putative fathers (fathers of non-marital children) have historically had fewer rights over their children than single mothers or married parents. Putative parents may request father's rights over a child to petition an adoption, receive notice of court proceedings related to the child, or seek visitation rights. The process of petitioning the court for a father's rights will depend on the state you live in.
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Instructions
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Check the law on presumed or putative father's rights for your state. Each state has its own rules on how to petition the Court for a father's rights. It is important to know what the requirements are. The U.S. Department of Health and Human services provides this information online (see References). For instance, 23 states require presumed fathers to register with a putative father registry, while in 21 states a father may claim paternity by filing an affidavit of paternity with a court.
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Gather the required information. Again this changes from state to state but it may include your name, address, social security number and date of birth. You will also need the child's name, date of birth, or expected date of birth and registration date.
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Register with the Putative Father Registry of your state. The details change from state to state. For example, to register with the Illinois Putative Father Registry, you need to fill out a written registration form, sign it and return it to the registry. In Illinois, this can be done online, by mail or in person.
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Sign a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity at the hospital when your child is born. If you haven't already you can take the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity to court and file it with the court that deals with paternity issues. In Illinois, this is the responsibility of the Clerk of Circuit Court.
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Tips & Warnings
Contact the Department of Healthcare and Family Services of your state and ask them for advice. You might want to hire a lawyer to help you.
In some states, if you do not register with a Putative Father Registry within 30 days of the child's birth, and do not take legal steps to establish paternity, you could lose your father's rights over your child permanently.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit child and father image by Renata Osinska from Fotolia.com
