Child support/paternity/case drop

[David]

Hello
when i was 19 i went to jail for a lewd and lascivious act that a young girl got pregnat
the charges were dropped and i didnt get convicted
its bin 2 years now
but i still wonder if that was my child
right now i dont know were are they at and i havnt seen them since the court appearence and i need some help
i would like to know and be part of my childs life
would the case get re-open if it is my child?
i didnt sign no birth certificate and i would like to get custody or have some rights if it is my child,How will that go about?
will i be able to take my child and spend time with it?
if i put my self on child support would i get rights?
Would i be able to change the last name of it? because i didnt sign no papers and i know the baby doesnt have my last name


if you could help me out that will be great
thank you and God Bless

[Attorney Cheri Hobbs]

It might be difficult to locate the minor child. If you are able to locate the mother and the minor child then you can file for Paternity (this is a court action that will enable you to have timesharing with the minor child and have the correct amount of child support ordered by the court). You will most likely need to have a payment plan for child support arrears (for the last two years).
Each parent has a responsibility to their child (both to spend time with the child and to financially support the child). Once you know the child's name you will also need to register with the Florida Putative Father's Registry at Putative Father Claim, Search and Update Information and Applications.

It might be difficult to have the minor child's last name changed to your's if the mother is not in agreement. Sometimes the court will order that both parent's names are placed as the child's last name. This is not a clear cut issue in most jurisdictions.

Good luck to you!

Attorney Cheri Hobbs