New Hampshire Adoption
The Rights of Unmarried Fathers
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Legal Definition of 'Father'
Rev. Stat. § 170-B:2
The term 'birth father' means a person or persons other than a legal father who has been named, pursuant to § 170-B:6, as the father of the child, or who is the subject of a pending paternity action, or who has filed an unrevoked notice of intent to claim paternity of the child pursuant to § 170-B:6.
The term 'legal father' means:
The person designated as the father pursuant to § 5-C:24 on that child's birth certificate
The person designated as the father pursuant to a court order resulting from a paternity action
The person designated as the father upon legitimation pursuant to § 457:42
The person who was determined by the court to be married to the birth mother at the time of conception, birth, or any time between conception and birth
Paternity Registry
Rev. Stat. § 170-B:6
A person who claims to be the father and who has registered his claim of paternity with the Office of Child Support Services in what shall be known as the New Hampshire Putative Father Registry or in the putative father registry of the State where the child was born shall be given notice by the court of an adoption and shall have the right to request a hearing to prove paternity.
The registration form filed with the appropriate putative father registry may be filed prior to the birth of the child but shall be filed prior to the birth mother's parental rights being surrendered or involuntarily terminated. Failure to register with the appropriate putative father registry prior to this time shall bar the alleged father from thereafter bringing an action to establish his paternity of the child and shall constitute an abandonment of said child and a waiver of any right to a notice of hearing in any adoption proceeding concerning the child.
Any person entitled to notice from the court shall have 30 days from the date of the court's notice to request a hearing at which he shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that he is the legal or birth father of the child. The failure to request such hearing within 30 days from the date of the court's notice shall result in a forfeiture of all parental rights and any right to notice by the court of any adoption proceedings concerning the child.
Note: And what happen's when the father is NEVER notified? Don't think it doesn't happen, because it definitely DOES happen in New Hampshire! New Hampshire Court's are known for terminating fictitious mens right's to make adoption that much quicker, even when ALL paperwork has been filed by the father on the day of his child's birth. New Hampshire DCYF and the Court's Never bother to even try to contact the REAL father. They just terminate someones right's with the same name or a fake name! Then comes the ILLEGAL adoption! Be warned. NH DCYF and the court's believe they have the Power of God!
Alternate Means to Establish Paternity
Rev. Stat. §§ 168-A:2; 5-C:24
Paternity shall be established upon the filing of:
A petition to the superior court by the mother, putative father, child, or public authority chargeable by law with the support of the child and the granting of such petition by the court
An affidavit of paternity with the clerk of the town where the birth of the child occurred. The affidavit of paternity shall have the legal effect of establishing paternity without requiring further action pursuant to this chapter, unless rescinded pursuant to § 5-C:28.
In the case of a child born in the State of New Hampshire whose paternity has not been established by means of an affidavit of paternity, the mother or the natural father may initiate a request for an acknowledgment of paternity.
When an unwed mother applies to the clerk of a town or city wishing to add the name of a father to her child's birth record the following shall apply:
The affidavit of paternity shall be executed prior to the child's 18th birthday.
The natural father to be named shall personally sign the affidavit.
If signed separately, each signature shall be separately notarized.
Required Information
Rev. Stat. § 5-C:25
Parents shall include the following information when completing an affidavit of paternity:
Information about the child, including:
The child's first, middle, and last names
The child's city or town and State of birth
The child's date of birth
The child's name as it appears on the birth record
The child's Social Security number, if known
Whether the child is living
The child's date and place of death, if applicable
Information about, and signature of, the child's natural father, including:
His full name and date of birth
His State of birth, Social Security number, and address
His signature and date signed, unless the natural father is a minor, in which case his parent or guardian's signature
Information about, and signature of, the child's mother, including:
Her maiden name
Her Social Security number
Her address
If the mother is a minor, her parent or guardian's signature
The date signed
When the mother's husband agrees that he is not the child's natural father, the following information, and signature of, the mother's husband, including:
The husband's name
His Social Security number
His address
His signature and date signed, unless the husband is a minor, in which case his parent or guardian's signature shall be obtained
The notarized signatures of the child's natural father, mother, and, if he is not the child's father, her husband, including the date signed and the date the notary's commission expires
Certification of the hospital or birthing center, including the name and signature of the preparer and date signed, and the name and the address of the hospital or birthing facility
Revocation of Claim to Paternity
Rev. Stat. § 5-C:28
A parent or legal guardian may request to rescind an affidavit of paternity from the clerk of the city or town where the birth occurred within 60 days of the filing of an affidavit of paternity unless an administrative or judicial proceeding related to the child results in an earlier date.
Once the completed rescission of paternity form is filed, the clerk of the town or city shall remove the name of the father from the birth record and insert 'not stated' in the space provided for the father's name or, if the original birth record was filed prior to the completion of an affidavit of paternity, change the child's name on the birth record back to the name stated on the original record before the affidavit of paternity was filed.
After the 60-day rescission period has passed, any challenge to the affidavit shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Access to Information
Rev. Stat. § 5-C:28
The clerk of the city or town where the birth occurred shall distribute the rescission of paternity to:
The birth mother
The father named on the affidavit of paternity
The parent or legal guardian of the minor signatory as stated on the affidavit of paternity
The division
The Department of Health and Human Services
The husband, if a three-party affidavit of paternity was completed
The hospital that was the originator of the affidavit of paternity, if applicable
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