QUESTION
What rights, if any, would my son's father have if he has never been part of my son's life?
Asked on Oct 27th, 2014 on Child Custody - Washington
More details to this question:
We were never married. He met my son once as an infant. I would like my son to meet his half siblings and get to know them. He is divorced from their mother. If my son's father ends up in the picture, does he have any legal rights? He is not on the birth certificate. No child support. He has 5 kids by 3 women. My parents and I have been raising my son for 10 years. I'm afraid of opening this can of worms but I know my son would love to know his siblings. Side note: I'm healthy but I do have MS and my son and I live with my parents. I'm on disability. He has never attempted to contact me or my son.
1 ANSWER
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If the father has never been in the child's like and you have never sought to establish him as the legal father and get child support, which is the right of the child, what makes you think there is any objective reason your son needs contact now, let alone with have siblings he's never met? This sounds like a romantic notion not a reasonable idea. If you want him to know his father, then file a proper parentage action. Yes, this will give him the legal rights of a parent. If you don't need his support and don't want him in the picture, clearly he's not interested or he could have filed any time during these 10 years. How does your son even know about these siblings? If you don't feed it, it won't grow. What possible benefit would come to your son from these relationships? I would do nothing unless you want the father in the picture.
Answered on Oct 28th, 2014 at 6:05 PM