Legal Rights of Mothers and Fathers

What rights and responsibilities does the father have?

BIRTH FATHER'S RIGHTS, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND CHOICES
Attorney Lois E. Rentmeester, Madison, Wisconsin, writes for the Adoption Information Center: You are a Father! Whether you are married or single, you have rights and responsibilities you should know about. You also have choices. This paper tells you about those rights, responsibilities and choices.

Declaration of Parental Interest
If you believe that you are the father of a child, but you are not married to the child's mother, you may file a Declaration of Parental Interest with the Department of Health and Social Services. Filing such a declaration does not prove that you are the father, but it does protect some of your legal rights. Filing a Declaration of Parental Interest may be the first step toward exercising your rights and responsibilities as a father.

The Declaration of Parental Interest must be in writing and must be signed by you. It must state your name and address, the name and last known address of the birth mother, the month and year of the birth or expected birth of the child, and a statement of the reasons you believe you are the father of the child. A form is available from the Department of Social Services in your county, or you or your attorney may file the above information in any written format and send it to Department of Health and Social Services, P.O. Box 7851, Madison, WI 53707. ¹

Determination of Paternity
A court sometimes is called upon to determine who is the legal father of a child. That legal process is called a paternity action. Sometimes a paternity action is not necessary because the birth mother and the man she names as the birth father agree that he is the father. Frequently, paternity becomes an issue when child support has not been paid by the birth father, and the taxpayers [are paying for W-2 and other programs.] In cases of adoptions, the paternity of a child is important so that the birth father of the child can choose to provide information for the benefit of his child. In fact, if paternity is not determined by the court, the Department of Social Services cannot provide the father's medical and genetic information for the child. Paternity is also important to the birth father so that he can exercise his right to place his child for adoption if he so chooses. ²

You can find the answers to a number of questions concerning paternity (legal fatherhood) and child support at the Child Support Program website provided by the State of Wisconsin, Department of Workforce Development. The Web address is: www.dwd.state.wi.us/bcs

1,2 Wisconsin Adoption Information Center, http://www.wiadoptioninfocenter.org/Information_for_Birthparents/Birthfathers_Information/body_birthfathers_information.html