Dear Sir:
My daughter who is 26 is due this month. The father made it clear early in the pregnancy that he wants no participation of any kind regarding the baby and even threatened my daughter that if she tries to force any benefits or tell the grandparents of the issue he would pursue visitation rights and even try to take the baby from her.
Under these circumstances,it was agreed that if he takes no action and basically disappears from her life no disclosure of any kind would be taken, nor alimony would be enforced..
My question, pertains to the grandparents who as far as I'm aware of, have no idea of my daughters pregnancy.
Legally and in Florida,do they have any rights in these circumstances? Is my daughter obligated to tell them (contrary to the wish of the father) that there going to be or are grandparents?

Arturo

Whether or not she ever files for child support, or the state files on her behalf (if she ever seeks state benefits for the child), any potential father can seek the establishment of paternity, visitation, or custody. He could do this even if she didn't try to force benefits. When there are two parents, and they are not together as a unified couple, dad does have every legal ability to challenge as he has noted. Of course that doesn't mean he'll win, only pointing out that until and unless the court has reason to feel otherwise, once paternity is established, he's on equal ground with mom as far as who "gets" the baby.

They can agree to that, but neither side can be legally BOUND by that agreement. If she ever files for state aid, for example, the state will FORCE that process to begin (to get the father to pay to support the child). And, should dad ever have a sudden change of heart, he can come out of the woodwork, even years later, to establish himself as the father, seek visitation/custody, etc.

Nope. Your daughter doesn't have to say "boo" to them. Grandparents are legal strangers to a child until and unless one or both parents grant them access to the child. Once that happens, and IF a relationship is allowed to form between a grandparent and the child over time, THEN a grandparent may have claim to grandparent rights (not really to benefit the grandparent, but to benefit the child who has formed an emotional bond and whom the court wants to protect from the possible loss of that bond).

__________________
While pointers can be helpful, ultimately the number one lesson in any legal action is: don't take legal advice from books, family, friends, co-workers, police officers, grocery clerks, web sites, or people on legal message boards. The only person who can give YOU legal advice is YOUR attorney.

http://www.aardvarc.org

Dear sir,
I've been told once and again regarding the fact that the State can force child support and the question that comes to mind is how do they do this if the father is "undisclosed".
My daughter is receiving benefits for her unborn through Medicaid and will continue to do so after birth.

Thanks

Arturo

The state can suspend those benefits pending her cooperation in attempting to identify the father - the person who SHOULD be supporting the child, instead of the taxpayers. The state hasn't done so yet, because until the child is actually born, paternity testing cannot be conducted. Once the birth occurs, however, the state has a duty to the taxpayers to try to collect from the person who helped to create the child and to hold THAT person financially responsible. Mom's who try to play the "well I don't know who the father is" card, can get the reply of "we don't know where your benefits are".

__________________
While pointers can be helpful, ultimately the number one lesson in any legal action is: don't take legal advice from books, family, friends, co-workers, police officers, grocery clerks, web sites, or people on legal message boards. The only person who can give YOU legal advice is YOUR attorney.

http://www.aardvarc.org

I agree with aardvarc on this one. Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html and http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/index.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.