we haven't heard from her since may. her alleged due date was 1/6/03 (don't know if she is or ever was pregnant). let's suppose she was really pregnant and decided to pursue cs. how long would it typically take for us to be notified by the courts or DSS or whoever? We are in south carolina.

I just depends on when she goes and applies. It could be the day she gets out of the hospital or it could e 5 years from now.

There's really no way to know.

Does your local newspaper run birth announcements? If so check there.

Hello,

That depends as if she files or not and when she does file. Typically, if she knows your H work place or knows or address then lets say about a month when the case is open. I know here it sits for awhile before a case worker is assign and then after that the papers will be sent out. I know it can take up to two months from when she files. However, if she only gives them his name then it can be months before they find him.

You said before you know someone that works with her. I know I would not be offended if you would ask if she had the baby or if she was pregnant because this is pretty important to you and your family. I don't South Carolina laws but I would check to see if she can support back to birth. If so you might want to file first so you don't get screwed. You can just say she told you that she was pregnant with his baby and then she has to prove it.

Dawn

<small>[ January 22, 2003, 12:56 PM: Message edited by: Dawn71 ]</small>

Dawn makes a good point about back child support. I don't know about other states, but in my state you can only collect child support back to the date of filing. In other states you can collect CS back to the date of birth. If nothing else it might be worth it to do some simple research about the paternity/child support laws in your state.

<small>[ January 22, 2003, 01:17 PM: Message edited by: Katie Scarlett ]</small>

i know where she was working, but i don't know anyone who works there. the newspaper doesn't run birth announcements unless the family pays for it. we don't live in the same town anymore so i checked the paper's website and didn't see anything. we can only obtain a birth record if we know the child's name and birthdate and if my h is listed as the father. i don't even know if our state will still let her put his name on the birth certificate if he doesn't give consent! the dss website doesn't give much information.

if it turns out she was lying about the whole thing, i will be ecstatic, of course. but i'll also be extremely angry for being put through all this.

any ideas on how to proceed are greatly appreciated, guys! thank you for all of your suggestions!

In most states if the woman is unmarried at the time of birth the "father" space is left blank on the birth certificate.

To have the father added the man would need to sign an affidadit (sp?) BEFORE she leaves the hospital.

On the other hand, she can name the child anything she wants. Meaning that even if his name is not on the BC, she can give the child your husbands last name if she wants to.

Hello,
Here is a thought. She would probably be a on maternity leave by now. Why don't you call her work and ask for her. If she is not there maybe ask if she in on maternity leave and see what they say. Or sometimes they have voice mail and I am sure it would say if she out for a while.

Dawn