Ok here is my situation. I got pregnant by my ex then he wanted to change my whole life around to suite him so I broke up with him. Then I met another guy and we are planning on getting married but I am due January 17th with the ex's baby. Im in Kansas and was wondering what I should do about the ex signing rights away? Can I have him do that? My Fiancee' wants to adopt her and some people have told me to just have him sign the birth certificate and just go on with our lives like its his baby.. Can we do that? And what if the ex wants to come back and be in her life could he fight us and take her away or anything? Sorry its soo long but I have so many things running thru my head and no one can really give me the right answer. Thanks

Yes, the baby's father can exercise his rights to his child. He can petition in court for DNA testing, and if proven to be the father, you can expect that he'll be given both rights of visitation/custody and responsibility of child support. He can do this even if you marry someone else and pretend the new man is the baby's father. The father can also register with the putative father's registry to prevent the child from being adipted without his knowledge and ability to contest the adoption.

The other thing you have to remember is that this isn't about only the father's rights, it's ALSO about the right of the CHILD to get to know the person that is their father. It's THAT right that the court cares about, not so much the rights of the adults in the situation, so it's VERY rare for a court to allow waiver of parental rights until there's a replacement parent willing to step in. In your case, it appears you already have someone in mind, but if the father objects, granting adoption isn't so likely. If the father is WILLING to consent to the adoption, things get easier. But remember that you will be asking a court to appoint a man to be the father of a child that isn't biologically his after a VERY short period of time (not even time to bear the prior man's baby yet). Before the court is likely to grant such an adoption, they'll want to see that you've been able to make the marriage work for a while. Courts don't grant adoptions to fiances, only to spouses, and preferably not to NEW spouses.

Having the new man sign a birth certificate when you both know he's not the father is called "fraud" - and could have some very serious consequences for both of you down the road. And, if the other man is shown to be the father, the fraud won't accomplish anything since it would be amended to show the CORRECT father anyway.

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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

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. 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.

My daughter wants to waive her parental rights over to with her son, she is willing to sign and her son has always lived with me and wants to live with me. Is there a way I can draft up a Waiver or Parental Rights myself for temporary use? I have an attorney but he said I have to wait atleast 4 months before he can do anything. So, is there any kind of temporary document I can use or draft up to have it in writing until the attorney gets things on the move. THe mother is wishy washy and is always changing her mind so that has me worried! I have raised the child from day 1, hes always lived with me. I dont want any money from my daughter, I just want to continue raising my grandson because I feel like he is my own. Any options?

Mom can certainly do things like assign types of authority to you, via processes like Power of Attorney, to allow you to do things like register the child in school, make medical decisions, etc. . But a child isn't treated like property that can be gifted or deeded to another person. Only a court's order can accomplish a severing - the dual task of terminating the parent's right to the child, and the child's right to their parent. Short of an order from the court, mom can legally show up at any time and collect her child. The other issue here before you can be made the child's legal guardian is that of the father. The court will also have to consider any rights or claim to the child that HE might have, including allowing the father to oppose the change in guardianship, or to seek custody himself. If you and mom are both on the same page, then dad is really the only issue to stand in the way. If dad is eager to bless the situation, things get even easier. But you'll definately need an attorney's services, because there are a lot of very specific procedures (especially regarding notifying dad) that need to occur perfectly, or you risk the guardianship being overturned at a later time (devestating to you AND the child). If the attorney you've been talking to doesn't have time for your case, you can search for another attorney. Other options include checking with any local law schools to see if they offer legal clinics (many provide great services under the direction of a licensed attorney while at the same time providing opportunities for future attorneys), or, you can attempt to go pro se (do it yourself) - BUT I would VERY strongly suggest that if you choose this route, that you at least have a local attorney double check your work before submitting things to the court (a few hundred dollars for a few hours of time up front are priceless when compared to the issues that arise when it's not done right).

__________________
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. 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.