How the Illinois Putative Father Registry Protects Fathers’ Rights

 Posted on April 16, 2019 in Family Law

In Illinois, the Putative Father Registry (PFR) is designed to help protect fathers’ rights and ensure that a child cannot be adopted without the father’s consent. Within 30 days after a child’s birth, the father should sign up with the PFR. For fathers who were not married to their child’s mother at the time of giving birth, it will also be necessary to establish paternity, which will need to be done by signing a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity or by going through the Circuit Court Clerk or through the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. The legal process to establish paternity must be started within 30 days of registering with the PFR. A family law attorney can help you with all of this.

What Does “Putative Father” Mean?

A putative father is a man who is the father of a child born to a mother when he was not married to her. He may even have been married to her before the birth. Regardless of the situation, he will need to follow the proper procedures to ensure that he proves his paternity and protects his rights as a father. Signing up with the Illinois Putative Father Registry is one action that will help keep his child from being put up for adoption without his consent. 

A putative father may sign up for the PFR before or after the birth of the child, even if his name is not on the child’s birth certificate, or even if paternity has not yet been legally established. Fathers under the age of 18 may also register with the PFR. If the child’s mother ever tries to put the child up for adoption, the father must be notified and may have the opportunity to stop the adoption process. 

Why Should a Father Register with the PFR?

If a father fails to register with the PFR, it is possible that the court will rule that he has waived his paternal rights and terminate those rights without notifying him. The child could also be permanently adopted without his consent. Registration will require the father to provide the following:

• Name
• Date of birth
• Social Security Number
• Current address (which must be kept up to date)
• Information about the child and the child’s mother
• Some other basic personal information

Contact an Experienced Oak Park Father’s Rights Attorney

You may never face a more important issue than protecting your rights as a father, and the attorneys at Wakenight and Associates, P.C. can help you do that. A knowledgeable Cook County family law attorney can help you establish paternity and secure parental rights, ensuring that you will be able to maintain a close relationship with your children. Call 708-480-9561 to schedule a free consultation. 

Sources: 

https://www2.illinois.gov/dcfs/aboutus/Documents/PFRbrochure.pdf