Legal Questions

The following questions are included without answers because they are legal questions that should be reviewed with an attorney who specializes in family law. Use them as a guide to developing the questions you need to ask about your particular situation.

A friend who's had a baby alone told me I'd better consider the legal ramifications of this situation. What was she talking about?

I've heard that in some states, if I'm unmarried I have to get a special birth certificate. Is this true?

I'm having my baby alone, and I'm concerned about who can make medical decisions for my expected baby and me. Is there anything I can do about this concern?

I'm not married, but I am deeply involved with my baby's father. Can my partner make medical decisions for me if I have problems during or after the birth?

If anything happens to me, can my partner make medical decisions for our baby after it is born?

What are the legal rights of my baby's father if we are not married?

Do my partner's parents also have legal rights in regard to my child (their grandchild)?

My baby's father and I went our separate ways before I knew I was pregnant. Do I have to tell him about the baby?

I chose to have donor (artificial) insemination. If anything happens to me during my labor or delivery, who can make medical decisions for me?

Who can make medical decisions for my baby?

I got pregnant by donor insemination. What do I put on the birth certificate under "father's name"?

Is there a way I can find out more about my sperm donor's family medical history?

Will the sperm bank send me updates if medical problems appear in my sperm donor's family?

I had donor insemination. Does the baby's father have any legal right to be part of my child's life in the future?

Someone was joking with me that my child could marry its sister or brother some day (because I had donor insemination) and wouldn't know it. Is this possible?

As my child grows up, he or she may need some sort of medical help (like a donor kidney) from a sibling. Will the sperm bank release this kind of information?