where do i stand with his name on the birth certificate ?

Question

i'm 38 weeks pregnant and my fiance has left me without an explanation, if he's not with us i dont want the baby to have his name, but i do want it on the birth certificate, i've heard you can only declare the father if they go to the registrar with you, i dont want him to cause a stink when we are there which he will do if i dont give my baby his surname. has anyone been in a similar situation.

i'm not saying i dont want him to have anything to do with the baby as i know the baby is both of ours !
i want his name on the certificate but i want her to have my surname, was just wanting to know i needed him there to include his name.

i've worked out what i'm going to to...i'll go on my own and give the baby my surname if he wants his name on we can add it on later, but he cant change the name unless i agree which i'm not going to do.

Answer 1

I had 2 of my kids before I got married and 1 afterwards. You cannot put his name on the birth certificate if he is not present at the time. And you can use either yours or his surname, although they will ask for you to explain. But if he doesn't want the baby, then why would you want to give him the privilege and gift of being named on the certificate. You can always amend it later if he changes his mind or just tell your child everything you can about him when it is old enough to ask and track him. Good Luck either way, at the end of the day it is your choice, but he has to be there to put his name on the certificate. Just remember to enjoy that baby. He doesn't know what he is missing out on, or the fact that he will still have to pay CSA. Whether his name is on the certificate or not!!!!!!!.

Answer 2

To my surprise, I discovered my little grandson has his mother's surname. This is because my son, who is now married to my grandson's mother, was in Germany at the time of the baby's birth. Apparently he had to be there. Even though they are now married, their son has a different surname. However, I would phone the registrar and ask for more up to date information.
The man who said you wouldn't get maintenance is wrong if you refused to put the father's name on the certificate, by the way. Many fathers refuse to acknowledge their children and still have to pay maintenance after dNA testing for example.
If your boyfriend behaves like an idiot, it should not affect your son's life any more than walking way from his responsibilities will do already. The man is a fool.
Phone though and find out for sure. Good luck.
By the way, it is always easier if your baby and you share a name. Less confusing. I kept my ex-husband's name even though I hated it with a passion for this reason.

Answer 3

A birth certificate is a legal and binding document. Because you are not married, you can only declare him the father on the birth certificate if he acknowledges paternity by signing paternity paperwork and in some states they require a blood test as well. You can do this in the hospital when the baby is born with a hospital staff as a witness. It's highly unlikely he will cause a scene at the hospital in the presence of the newborn and under the scrutiny of the hospital staff. If I were you, I would give the baby his father's name. It is the most common way of tracking family history and you will cause much confusion later.

Answer 4

I just had my second child with my husband 3 weeks ago, and when it came time to fill out the birth certificate, I actually had to sign a document that said he was allowed to see the birth certificate. They didn't make him leave the room, but if I hadn't signed that peice of paper, he would have had no say at all as to what I named the baby, first or last name. The right and responsibility of that is entirely up to the mother. He also had to sign this document that said he was the father of the baby and took responsibility for it (should custody ever come up). If your fiance (or ex, if it goes that way) doesn't sign this paper, there's nothing he can do in relation to the child unless he gets a blood test. Good luck with the birth

Answer 5

Unless you are married the father has to be present at registration if you want his name on the birth certificate. Explain to him that as you are raising the child it will be better (at school etc) if you and the baby have the same name. Couldn't you give the baby his surname as a middle name?

If you get the short form birth certificate (the one they give you anyway) there isn't room for the fathers name on it. The fathers name only appears on the long form (which you have to pay for)!

Answer 6

Either parent can register the birth if you were married at the time of the birth or conception. If you were not married, but you would like the father's details to be entered in the register, then you will either both have to go and sign the birth register together, or if one of you cannot attend, then the other one must show the registrar a statutory declaration acknowledging the father's paternity (the form can be obtained from any registrar).

The mother of a child - and the father if he is married to the mother - automatically have parental responsibility. Where the parents are not married to each other, the father will acquire parental responsibility if he acts with the mother to have his name recorded in the child's birth registration after 1st December 2003.

I would ring your local authority and have a chat with them. They will advise you further.

I know where you are coming from and understand what you are going through. I was in a situation though where I was still married to my husband but we had separated so didn't need him to attend. Good luck!

Answer 7

If you are not married there is no legal obligation that the baby should take his surname and if you were married it is the same case. It is your decision what name the baby takes and even if he kicks up a stink just stick to your guns and refuse to change your mind.

I don't think the father needs to even be at the signing of the birth certificate in order for his name to be on it so just go on your own and avoid the arguments.
If you want him to sign the certificate then just let him know at a later date when the certificate has been validated and the babies name can not be changed. Its sneaky but with less hassle

Answer 8

You can register the baby without his father present. You can also give the child your surname. Think carefully about your decision though as you cannot change the surname on her birth certificate later on.

Answer 9

you can register the birth yourself. If you wanted to have your exes surname as your babies surname then you would need him to be present as you are not married. As far as I know as long as you are using your own name there shouldn't be a problem.

When we went to register our daughter they said that parental rights have changed now so if both your names are on the certificate he could technically get full custody as it's equal rights now.

Not sure of your situation but do you think you and he could manage five minutes together to register your baby?

Answer 10

Ok, as far as his name on the birth cert.... You can put his name on there without him being there but if you ever try to pursue child support then it will have to be proven by a blood test for the courts more than likely.
As far as the surname, you can name the child by your surname or the father's surname....Unfortunately men have absolutely no say what-so-ever in that part. If you claim that Elvis presley is the father then you can call the kid Presley if you like. If you are worried about him causing a stink....umm, well, don't. Sounds like he stinks himself.
Actually they even kicked me out of the room when my wife(ex-wife now ladies) to make her feel more comfortable that I wasn't pressuring her to name the baby with her.