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I am a married military wife. I had a child from an affair but my husbands name is XXXXX XXXXX birth certificate. I need to correct it and put her father on there. Her father does not deny her and is willing to do what is needed. So my question is how do I get her birth certificate and last name changed to reflect her fathers information under NC law?
Optional Information: North CarolinaAlready Tried: contacted local lawyers but cannot afford fee just to ask what I need to do.
DearCustomer
In what state was your child born?
How old is the child?
What did your attorneys say, so that I can address that in my answer?
Were you married at the time of the child birth?
what does your current husband say?
CHILD BORN IN NC SHE WAS BORN JAN. 22, 2007 I NEVER MET WITH AN ATTORNEY BECAUSE THE FEE WAS TOO MUCH JUST TO HAVE A CONSULT WITH THEM. YES I WAS MARRIED AT THE TIME OF BIRTH. MY HUSBAND WAS ANGRY BUT AGREED TO STAY TOGETHER TO WORK IT OUT. BUT HE WANTS THE FATHER TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.
First of all, there is no absolute need to change the child's name to have the biological father take responsibility. A child support law suit is sufficient to cause financial responsibility.
You need to think hard about who is raising this child and if it will be a problem raising him with a different last name. I am sure you already thought of this, but i needed to mention it. I admire that you and your husband are working it out; but do you guys really want the other man coming around visiting the child and helping to raise her?
None the less, if you and your husband are in agreement, then the two of you need to go to the local vital statistics office (for your county) and ask to amend or change the name of your child on the birth certificate. Since she is so young, you do not require a formal court procedure.
It is simpy a matter of completing a form or writing an affidavit. Each county in NC has a slightly different procedure, so I will not be able to direct you further on the process and procedure.
http://www.namechangelaw.com/states/nc/northcarolina.htm
this is a commercial site that professes to sell forms for name changes. I can not vouch for the accuracy of the forms they sell. But the law they have posted is an exact lift from state statutes.
But I need to change my husbands name to her biological father's name on her birth certificate in order to file for child support, correct? Her Bio. father is retired Amry so he offered to add her to DEERS under his name which is why I wanted to change the birth certificate. Doesn't his name need to be on there in order to do that? She was never added to Deers because my husband was deployed and my POA ran out before she was born. He recently came back so we are trying to decide who to add her to his or her fathers. She was covered by Carolina Access for her first year and now she has no insurance currently. She has medical problems she is covered by a UNC specialist to treat so I need the fastest but correct way to insure her.
NO you do not. YOu do not have to change the name.
A biological father is responsible for paying child support unless the child was adopted by someone else or his parental rights were severed by court action.
Now it can be argued in court that your husband may have actually accepted responsibilit for the child by agreeing to place his name on the Birth Certificate. And that amounts to adoption, there by relieving the other person.
But this is something determined by the court, not written in law. The law does not state the condition of the child's last name.
DEERS...Thanks for that. OK so now we are not talking court here, we are talking military regualtion. That presents a vastly different discussion.
In order to enroll a child into deers, one of the following conditiosn has to be met:
The fastest way...change the name on the birth certificate as you wanted to do in the first place.
If the name become an issue when she is older, the name can be changed without causing her to be disenrolled from DEERS.
If your husband is not going to retire from the military, enrollling her under the bio-logical father's name would ensure life time benefits.
Army First Sergeant (RET)
Army First Sergeant: military sourced training in UCMJ, Status of Forces Agreements, D&A, etc.
YOUR QUESTION (slightly revised for ease of understanding): I had a child from an affair but my husband's name is XXXXX XXXXX birth certificate. My husband has agreed to stay together to work it out. But he wants the father to take responsibility. And the father does not deny his paternity of the child and is willing to do what is needed. I need to correct the birth certificate so as to remove my husband’s name and replace it with the child’s biological father. So my question is how do I get her birth certificate and last name changed to reflect her fathers information under NC law? ANSWER: Under NC law, the husband of a woman who gives birth to a child during the course of her marriage to her husband is presumed, by law, to be the child’s natural father and is considered the child’s legal father until it is legally determined that he is not the child’s father. Further, the legal presumption that a husband is the father of a child born to his wife during the course of their marriage may be rebutted by blood or genetic test results proving that he could not be the child’s biological father. See Write v. Write, 281 NC 159, 188 S.E.2d 317 (1972). So here’s what you need to do: First, get a DNA test that evidences your husband’s biological nonpaternity of the child born during the marriage. Second, file a action with the court seeking a declaratory judgment adjudicating your husband’s nonpaternity of the child, evidenced by the blood test results, which will be sufficient to rebut the legal presumption of your husband’s paternity of the child. Third, after husband’s presumed paternity of the child has been rebutted and his nonpaternity has been declared, you may then file a paternity establishment proceeding against the biological father. Assuming the biological father does not deny his paternity of the child and is willing to do what is needed, he can the stipulate to a court Judgment establishing him as the child’s legal father. If you want, you may include in the judgment document a provision by which the judge legally changes the child’s name. (NOTE: This is not required. Indeed, if you and your husband are going to remain married and living together, it may be preferable for your child to have you husband’s last name.) Fourth, submit a certified copy of the court’s Judgment to Vital Records. The agency will then implement the court’s judgment and amend the child’s birth certificate accordingly. Fifth, after the biological father has been established as the child’s legal father, you can then seek to have a child support order imposed. Contact the Child Support Enforcement agency in North Carolina and submit an application for support enforcement services. They will then assist you in getting child support established. Lastly, you do NOT need to change the child’s name to that of the biological father's name on the child’s birth certificate in order to file for child support against the biological father after he has been declared to be the child’s legal father. The name of the child has nothing to do with the legal father’s obligation to support his child.
Lawyer
Military & Family Law. 30+ years experience. USFSPA pension division expertise.