Putative Father Registry Not Quite What It Was Meant To Be

I have previously written about Missouri's Putative Father Registry.  This Registry allows men, who are or who believe they are the biological father of a child,  to register their claim of fatherhood.  If a man does not do this before the child is born or within 15 days after the child's birth (some extensions in time apply if there is fraud), he stands to lose his parental rights to the child if the child is put up for adoption.  The State of Florida has a similar law.  In Florida, however, the courts are making findings that the failure to file a claim in the Putative Father Registry was not a basis to terminate the man's parental rights and that it is a fundamental error to do so.  The most recent case in Florida is J.A. v. Heart of Adoptions, Inc.  I have not researched to see what other state courts are doing but other states may be ruling in a similar manner.  If that is the case,  Missouri courts could soon be reviewing this issue.  This is an area that should be looked at more closely by the courts.

Source:  Family Law Prof Blog, 2/9/07 - Case Law Development: Teeth Pulled from Putative Father Registries; J.A. v. Heart of Adoptions, Inc., Dist. Ct. of Appeals of Florida, Southern District, Case No. 2D05-5058