Putative Father

Question: Does performing a paternity test require the mother's DNA as well as that of the child and putative father? I had been (perhaps incorrectly) informed by a non-scientific source that you only need the child and putative father to confirm or deny paternity, and that the mother is not required. But I'd like to hear from someone with actual knowledge of paternity testing (and so, pessimistically, I come to the "Parenting" section). Is that true? How do such paternity tests work?

Answer: A DNA paternity test can be performed with only the alleged father's DNA and the child's DNA. It is recommended that the mother's DNA be included, where ever possible, as this gives a stronger result. A test with or without the mother's DNA works just the same. Since the child receives half their genes from the mother, and half from the father, it's helpful to the DNA testing lab to be able to tell which genes are from the mother. The remaining genes then must match the father's. A full explanation of how it works is available on Identigene's website: http://www.dnatesting.com/dna-test-quest…

Question: Does a putative father have the right to file for custody? I know that I am the father. I have been solely taking care of my 10 month old daughter for the last 7 months while the mother has been out doing god knows what. Do I have the right to file for custody. I hope so, as I have already filed.

Answer: Yes you have the right, and way to go by taking care of your child. You may have a fight on your hands but make sure to contact a lawyer. Good luck and God bless, we need more men like you.

Question: Putative Father's Rights? how long after a child's birth does a putative father have to file for his rights of paternity, support etc...in new jersey? any and all information appreciated on this topic!

Answer: That varies by state. The site below might have your answers.

Question: Can a putative father have a paternity test performed on an infant WITHOUT the mother's consent or knowledge? If a woman claims that a man is the father of her child, and he has his own doubts about this, can he legally have a DNA test performed to confirm paternity? One that would NOT require the mother's consent or knowledge and that would be accepted by a court? Would it matter if the birth certificate had been signed by the putative father or not? Or if the couple were married or not (I know that if a child is born to a legal marriage, the husband is assumed to be the biological father)? A different, but related question: SHOULD a putative father be able to have a paternity test performed on an infant without the mother's consent or knowledge? No, the mother's DNA is not required to test paternity. And I would be shocked if an over-the-counter DNA test purchased at a drug store would be considered legally admissible as evidence in court. It usually must be performed at a certified clinic or hospital, and handled and analyzed by trained medical personnel. Wait, the mother DOES have to be tested also? I was informed differently; if so, then we need to limit the question to the mother's consent.

Answer: He can have one done but it will not be accepted by the courts because both parents must be tested in order for it to be legal (in case of switched at birth incidents). He should and can but like I said its not totally accurate unless both parents are tested. It does matter who signs the birth certificate and it matters who the mother is married to at the time of birth. If the mother is married, that man is automatically legally responsible for that child until a paternity test is completed and the process for changing the father on the birth certificate is complete. This is true even if the husband is know not to be the baby's biological father. Good luck!

Question: What does Putative father mean, legally? Just want to know what this means. My partner is having to undergo a legal paternity test for a child that is claimed to be his. He has undergone a "peace of mind" test which came up that he was not the father but the mother didn't beleive it. Anyway long story short....we got the paper work for the legal test and I want to make sure that we fill it in right and don't sign anything wrong. It has a section that says "to be completed by the (putative) parent or guardian of a child giving a sample or by an adult child." then it has the bit to fill in " I (name)..................................… (address)...............................… and occupation..............................… oath and say/affirm: I am the ........................................… (putative father, mother, guardian) of the child whose parentage is in issue". We are in NSW Australia Thanks

Answer: It means the same as 'alleged' - ie he's said to be the father, it hasn't been proved that he is.

Question: In a case of disputed paternity, the child is group O, the mother group A, and the putative father is AB.? What inference, if any, can be drawn from this information?

Answer: Child is group O = OO genotype. This means that each parent must contribute an O. The mother is AO and can give an O. The putative father is AB and has no O allele and so is not the father.

Question: what is the meaning of putative father?

Answer: "Putative father" means a man who is alleged to be or who claims to be the biological father of a child born to a woman to whom the man is not married at the time of the birth of the child.

Question: Need more opinions about putative father signing birth certificate although not biological father.? I just called my states vital records hotline and asked about adding father's name to birth certificate and getting her name changed.. they are sending me paperwork he is supposed to sign it, and we send it back with certified copy of our marriage license and "walaa" that's it. It sounds too simple. He isn't the biological father though, we don't know who is. If we go the adoption route, it will cost over $2000. Her biological father, since we don't know who it is, he doesn't know she exists, and anyone who is a possibility knew I was pregnant so they had their chance to step up and didn't, they are worthless. My husband has been there since before she was even born. Has anyone else been in this situation. Tell me your opinions on if I'm doing the right thing (not legally, but "what's right for her". The way I see it, if there is no one to contest, how will anyone ever know the difference or raise question about it?

Answer: I think "father" should not defined as someone who gave DNA to produce her. If there is a man who loves you and her, and is willing to accept her as his own, that is who the real father is.

Question: what does the putative father mean?

Answer: Alleged father

Question: What are your thoughts on male abortion? From Wikipedia The term male abortion was first coined by Melanie McCulley, a South Carolina attorney, in her 1998 article, "The Male Abortion: The Putative Father's Right to Terminate His Interests in and Obligations to the Unborn Child," which was published in The Journal of Law and Policy The concept begins with the premise that when an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, she has the option of abortion, adoption, or parenthood; and argues, in the context of legally recognized gender equality, that in the earliest stages of pregnancy the putative (alleged) father should have the same human rights to relinquish all future parental rights and financial responsibility -- leaving the informed mother with the same three options. McCulley states: 'When a female determines she is pregnant, she has the freedom to decide if she has the maturity level to undertake the responsibilities of motherhood, if she is financially able to support a child, if she is at a place in her career to take the time to have a child, or if she has other concerns precluding her from carrying the child to term. After weighing her options, the female may choose abortion. Once she aborts the fetus, the female's interests in and obligations to the child are terminated. In stark contrast, the unwed father has no options. His responsibilities to the child begin at conception and can only be terminated with the female's decision to abort the fetus or with the mother's decision to give the child up for adoption. Thus, he must rely on the decisions of the female to determine his future. The putative father does not have the luxury, after the fact of conception, to decide that he is not ready for fatherhood. Unlike the female, he has no escape route'. McCulley's male abortion concept equalizes the legal status of unwed men and unwed women by giving the unwed man by law the ability to 'abort' his rights in and obligations to the child. If a woman decides to keep the child the father may choose not to by severing all ties legally. Do you think it's wrong or a good idea? I think there is some confusion. The term "male abortion" does not actually mean to abort the child. It means the father can opt out of raising the child or having parental/financial responsibility for the child.

Answer: Best idea ever.

Question: Should men have an abortion option when it comes to children? Like say, terminating all their parental rights? that is in effect what women do when they terminate the birth. When a female determines she is pregnant, she has the freedom to decide if she has the maturity level to undertake the responsibilities of motherhood, if she is financially able to support a child, if she is at a place in her career to take the time to have a child, or if she has other concerns precluding her from carrying the child to term. After weighing her options, the female may choose abortion. Once she aborts the fetus, the female's interests in and obligations to the child are terminated. In stark contrast, the unwed father has no options. His responsibilities to the child begin at conception and can only be terminated with the female's decision to abort the fetus or with the mother's decision to give the child up for adoption. Thus, he must rely on the decisions of the female to determine his future. The putative father does not have the luxury, after the fact of conception, to decide that he is not ready for fatherhood. Unlike the female, he has no escape route.

Answer: I have just read through your statement and you appear to have answered the question, yourself. I have also read through most of the answers and I am really amazed at some of them, they are so biased and anti male! Well yes folks, would you believe it when I explain to you that men, actually do have feelings. When my ex wife became pregnant for the third time (ten year gap) everyone said to terminate as we already had two children and a ten year gap between them (and the latest) would be too much) Naturally they were turning to me and I was getting a big proportion of the blame, even my wife asked if we should keep the child. My feelings regarding this matter are quite simple, though some will think I am trying to get away with not making a decision. OK. It takes two to conceive a child but the decision to keep the child or abort has to rest with the mother. After all she has to go through 9 months of feeling less than beautiful (I just cant agree with that one) Her body is going through a huge amount of change, her hormones are completely haywire, she has the fear of the actual childbirth and finally she has to go through the pain of the birth itself. Whatever decision is made at the outset the man has to provide complete emotional support. It can never be and must never be,his decision to terminate a pregnancy this has to be down to the mother. I agree that he has responsibility for the child - of course he has but at the same time I believe he should be responsible enough and he does have 9 months to get used to the idea. As for me, being a Dad is the best thing about life. You may end up with your wife going with someone else but your children are always yours and should be loved and cherished.

Question: how does a mother fight to get custody of her child back? my friend gave birth in the hospital not being under any drugs and dss was called the mother did not have any thing set for her baby and she was amitted to the psyh hospital the putative father steped up and got custody of her baby and she sees her baby with his mother and the court did not order any set stone vistitation rights how does she get her rights and dss closed the case can she fight and what does she do?

Answer: Justy in case she doesn't have any money,call your local Legal Aid. Once she's assigned a lawyer,both of you need to go to the nearest office of you State Attorney General-Child Support Division,and speak to an investigator. Make sure you explain in full detail why you're there and needing their help in this matter. Good luck.

Question: How can i avoid childsupport? 'When a female determines she is pregnant, she has the freedom to decide if she has the maturity level to undertake the responsibilities of motherhood, if she is financially able to support a child, if she is at a place in her career to take the time to have a child, or if she has other concerns precluding her from carrying the child to term. After weighing her options, the female may choose abortion. Once she aborts the fetus, the female's interests in and obligations to the child are terminated. In stark contrast, the unwed father has no options. His responsibilities to the child begin at conception and can only be terminated with the female's decision to abort the fetus or with the mother's decision to give the child up for adoption. Thus, he must rely on the decisions of the female to determine his future. The putative father does not have the luxury, after the fact of conception, to decide that he is not ready for fatherhood. Unlike the female, he has no escape route' Im 16 year old virgin so dont talk crap about what i should and dont talk about vastencomeny and condoms why cant men decide for abortion or atleast give up parental rights and no chidsupport

Answer: The point being that the male (and females alike) should protect themselves from pregnancy in the first place, and if there is no room to accept the consequences then they shouldn't engage in sexual contact because NO form of birth control is 100% except abstinence. Is it "fair" that a female 'can' chose abortion, adoption, or raising the child but the male cannot have any say... No... But have you also considered that abortion isn't a viable solution for all females either. If there is a moral or religious stigma against it then the woman is in the same position as the man. On the flip side, there are specific scenarios that would beg to differ from your bland analysis... Such as my personal situation... My ex intentionally impregnanted me... Because of my moral beliefs against abortion (personally, but I don't preach to others)... I went on to have my daughter. Now, are you saying that my daughter doesn't deserve the financial support (and emotional) of the parent that made her conception happen intentionally?! Are you seriously claiming that any child should be denied the emotional and financial support of their parent if he (speaking father specifically) so choses to abandon the innocent child?! The courts and society do not look at the mother vs father game but they look at what the innocent child deserves in the whole situation... And EVERY child deserves to have support from BOTH parents. If someone doesn't have the desire or responsibility in nature to face the consequences of pregnancy then they (males & females alike) should refrain from having sex altogether, or consider vasectomy/tubal ligation...

Question: How can avoid childsupport? 'When a female determines she is pregnant, she has the freedom to decide if she has the maturity level to undertake the responsibilities of motherhood, if she is financially able to support a child, if she is at a place in her career to take the time to have a child, or if she has other concerns precluding her from carrying the child to term. After weighing her options, the female may choose abortion. Once she aborts the fetus, the female's interests in and obligations to the child are terminated. In stark contrast, the unwed father has no options. His responsibilities to the child begin at conception and can only be terminated with the female's decision to abort the fetus or with the mother's decision to give the child up for adoption. Thus, he must rely on the decisions of the female to determine his future. The putative father does not have the luxury, after the fact of conception, to decide that he is not ready for fatherhood. Unlike the female, he has no escape route' Im 16 year old virgin so dont talk crap about what i should and dont talk about vastencomeny and condoms why cant men decide for abortion or atleast give up parental rights and no chidsupport

Answer: You might find these ads/website informative. http://avoidthestork.com/ Come on now how many guys whine it isn't fair to remind them that they too can prevent an unintended pregnancy! Thats right you must think proactively! Use that LOGIC you tell us you have so much of.........

Question: What do you think of this; male abortion? I was reading an article and this is an exerpt from it. "When a female determines she is pregnant, she has the freedom to decide if she has the maturity level to undertake the responsibilities of motherhood, if she is financially able to support a child, if she is at a place in her career to take the time to have a child, or if she has other concerns precluding her from carrying the child to term. After weighing her options, the female may choose abortion. Once she aborts the fetus, the female's interests in and obligations to the child are terminated. In stark contrast, the unwed father has no options. His responsibilities to the child begin at conception and can only be terminated with the female's decision to abort the fetus or with the mother's decision to give the child up for adoption. Thus, he must rely on the decisions of the female to determine his future. The putative father does not have the luxury, after the fact of conception, to decide that he is not ready for fatherhood. Unlike the female, he has no escape route." What do you all think? EDIT: Wow, lots of vitriol. I wasn't privy to yesterday's conversation. I was simply reading some court cases. I came across Dubay v. Wells and an article on the arguments. I just thought it might make for an interesting discussion.

Answer: I think that male abortion(waiving rights and responsibilities of fatherhood) should be legal if carried out in the same time frame that a woman has to abort. If abortion is legal, so should the male equivalent. Otherwise is discrimination against males. Destroying a potential human life and refusing to care for a human are both immoral but if one is legal, the other should be as well. Fatherhood has a massive impact on a persons life. Right now, men have few reproductive rights. Women are free to terminate pregnancy while men are told, "they should have kept it in their pants" when they refuse to be fathers. People who oppose such are upholding womens rights while denying the same rights to men. Indigo:"However, it's a different thing if the guy just up and decides he wants out of it. To do the fun part and run off his wrong and for cowards." Indigo, does that make a woman who has an abortion a coward? She had the fun and then shirked the responsibility. Elf #3: "I suggest that the fee to obtain a male abortion be the same as the fee for a woman to obtain an abortion. Doesn't get much more equal than that." I'll have to concur.

Question: what is michigan law om child abandoment? where do you look it up? how long can cases be open? no parent is stepping forward.fathers are putative.(and not citizens)is there a time frame.why cannot the fathers come forward.can't they stay in the states for their child?

Answer: Michigan Children's Law Blog (i) Abandonment of a young child. (ii) Criminal sexual conduct ... message to Michigan's leaders that they must stabilize their child welfare team ... http://www.michiganchildrenslawblog.com - 65k - Cached

Question: How to change childs name? My 11 year olds putative father is listed on her birth certificate. We were never married and have not heard from him in over 8 years. My husband now has raised her since she was 4 and wants to be listed as her father. How do I do this? I can not afford an attorney. But doesn't it make a difference that her biological father, we were never married, has never established paternity other than being listed on the birth certificate? There is no "papers" on her, such a visitation, child support, etc.

Answer: You will have to go through a Termination of Parental Rights of the biological father. The termination can be done voluntarily (with biological father's permission) or it can be done involuntarily. Once the Father's rights are terminated then your husband can adopt your daughter. My wife and I went through this with our oldest daughter. We served her father with court papers and he never showed up to court so his rights were terminated involuntarily.

Question: What about Male Abortion? From Wikipedia The term male abortion was first coined by Melanie McCulley, a South Carolina attorney, in her 1998 article, "The Male Abortion: The Putative Father's Right to Terminate His Interests in and Obligations to the Unborn Child," which was published in The Journal of Law and Policy The concept begins with the premise that when an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, she has the option of abortion, adoption, or parenthood; and argues, in the context of legally recognized gender equality, that in the earliest stages of pregnancy the putative (alleged) father should have the same human rights to relinquish all future parental rights and financial responsibility -- leaving the informed mother with the same three options. McCulley states: 'When a female determines she is pregnant, she has the freedom to decide if she has the maturity level to undertake the responsibilities of motherhood, if she is financially able to support a child, if she is at a place in her career to take the time to have a child, or if she has other concerns precluding her from carrying the child to term. After weighing her options, the female may choose abortion. Once she aborts the fetus, the female's interests in and obligations to the child are terminated. In stark contrast, the unwed father has no options. His responsibilities to the child begin at conception and can only be terminated with the female's decision to abort the fetus or with the mother's decision to give the child up for adoption. Thus, he must rely on the decisions of the female to determine his future. The putative father does not have the luxury, after the fact of conception, to decide that he is not ready for fatherhood. Unlike the female, he has no escape route'. McCulley's male abortion concept equalizes the legal status of unwed men and unwed women by giving the unwed man by law the ability to 'abort' his rights in and obligations to the child. If a woman decides to keep the child the father may choose not to by severing all ties legally. Do you think it's wrong or a good idea? ....ummm...you know I didn't come up with the idea of male abortion right? I was just wondering what people thought of it.

Answer: First, wow, gotta love the "equality" presented by a lot of the girls/women in this thread. Yes, if as a people we want to truly treat others equally then this is the only thing that can be done. It may not be ethical, but then again we're talking about a woman's right to abortion, which raises a plethora of questions on ethics.

Question: law terms defined? what does in indiana, contested petition to establish paternity mean? your petitoner pray that the court dtermine the paternity of said child and enter order decarling that (persons name) is the father of said children the petitioner has caused a search to be made of the putative father of said child and notice shall be given as provided by law.

Answer: Putative = Reportedly It's a request of the mother to the court to say that the person named in the petition, is the father of the child named in the petition. In short, it's a request to name this person as the father of the child. Most likely for support payments.

Question: What are your thoughts on male abortion? For or against? Why? From Wikipedia The term male abortion was first coined by Melanie McCulley, a South Carolina attorney, in her 1998 article, "The Male Abortion: The Putative Father's Right to Terminate His Interests in and Obligations to the Unborn Child," which was published in The Journal of Law and Policy The concept begins with the premise that when an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, she has the option of abortion, adoption, or parenthood; and argues, in the context of legally recognized gender equality, that in the earliest stages of pregnancy the putative (alleged) father should have the same human rights to relinquish all future parental rights and financial responsibility -- leaving the informed mother with the same three options. McCulley states: 'When a female determines she is pregnant, she has the freedom to decide if she has the maturity level to undertake the responsibilities of motherhood, if she is financially able to support a child, if she is at a place in her career to take the time to have a child, or if she has other concerns precluding her from carrying the child to term. After weighing her options, the female may choose abortion. Once she aborts the fetus, the female's interests in and obligations to the child are terminated. In stark contrast, the unwed father has no options. His responsibilities to the child begin at conception and can only be terminated with the female's decision to abort the fetus or with the mother's decision to give the child up for adoption. Thus, he must rely on the decisions of the female to determine his future. The putative father does not have the luxury, after the fact of conception, to decide that he is not ready for fatherhood. Unlike the female, he has no escape route'. McCulley's male abortion concept equalizes the legal status of unwed men and unwed women by giving the unwed man by law the ability to 'abort' his rights in and obligations to the child. If a woman decides to keep the child the father may choose not to by severing all ties legally.

Answer: Well I'm in favour of equality and that includes male abortion. You can't say women can abort but men can't because they are men. Gender discrimination. If the fetus is part of the women's body, then fine its part of her body but don't come looking for the man when that fetus become a hungry baby that needs clothing and shelter. Either a man has a say or does not have a say. I'm not for abortion but the courts will never ban abortion and thats just me being a realist. The americans would just go to canada or mexico to abort anyways. Basically McCulley argues well and there is not much more to add. Prenatal a man has no say, he is a womans hostage. A woman can abort or bear without his say. A woman can remove herself from being a mother, a man cannot, he must pay child support or become a criminal. Child support is the only debt that you can go to prison for, debtor prisons have ended in every civilized nation except on this issue.