Help mee! Need info on legal stuff..

God im really miserable at the moment. I just want to craw away into a hole. I cant stop crying i feel stupid!

I talked to my ex just before and he said he doesnt want to sign the birth certificate and that we will have to go to court about it.

He seems to think he wont have to sign it.

Does anyone know anything about this sort of thing? I mean, like, is there any way for him to win this and not have to be on the birth cert?

Is there anything online where i can read about this sort of thing? I know bub isnt even here yet but i want to be prepared ya know. I dont believe that he should get out of paying child support.

Welll.... this is where I can tell you my experience.

He can refuse all he wants to sign the birth certificate, but that just means you go to your lawyer and get a deed of paternity. This involves you writing an affadavit and taking it in to be filed. He is then served and has to make an appearance at court. He can contest this but then has to have a paternity test done. Yours will be paid for by legal aid, but if he is working, his won't and he'll have to fork out about $1000. Then the test says that he is the father and he will be ordered by the court to sign the deed of paternity, which is basically the same thing as him on the birth cert.

Thoooo... I don't know if a deed of paternity gives him the same rights as the birth cert does. If his name is on the birth cert then he has guardianship. Some lawyer type might have to clarify about the deed.

Not an entirely happy process, but maybe if you let him in on the fact that it'll suck much more for him than it will for you, then he may just sign it!

Good luck sweet, and let me know if you need any more help. Been there before!

Well it's been 4yrs now since I worked in law but last I knew, a father was only an automatic guardian if he was living with the mother at the time of the baby's birth, not dependent at all on whether he is on the birth cert. So being on the birth cert doesn't mean automatic access rights either. But it does usually mean child support. You'll really need to get a lawyer onto this one but you will probably be eligible for legal aid.

Um i read this on this site http://www.justice.govt.nz/family/what-familycourt-does/children/paternity.asp#fc8

Usually, a child's mother and father are joint guardians of the child. They are often referred to as the child's natural guardians.

However, while a child's mother is automatically a guardian, the child's father is a guardian only if -

he was married to or in a civil union with the child's mother at any time from when the child was conceived until it was born, or

the child was conceived before 1 July 2005 and he was living with the child's mother when the child was born, or

the child was conceived on or after 1 July 2005 and he was living with the child's mother at any time between conception and the birth, or

he was recorded as the father of the child on the birth certificate on or after 1 July 2005.

The father can also apply to be appointed a guardian by the Family Court. The Court will do this unless it is against the child's best interests.


We were living together when she was concieved and for about 7 weeks after (or until we found out i was pregnant and he dumped me at 8 weeks lol)

So this mean hes a guardian anyway right? But does that mean anything lol?

Okay cool thank you heps. Ive also PM'd Bombshell.

thanks guys

Ugh im not looking forward to all this hehe.

have PMed you....hope that fills you in.

I've got two birth certs for Conor. My partner broke up with me too when I found out I was pregnant, at first he didn't want to know, then after he was born he decided that he would be named on the certificate. Put me through the emotional wringer during that time. We haven't had any contact with him since Conor was 6 months old. We've told Conor about him, but he's made the choice not to find anything out about him, maybe when he's a little older he'll decide to, but I'll leave that up to him. He can also make the decision on which cert he wants...

Good luck and I hope for you and your daughters sake you get the help you need.