Adoption Article-2: How an Unwed Father Can Protect His Rights

Often times, unwed fathers are unaware of a system set up to protect their rights entitled the Putative Father Registry. A putative father is defined as someone who does not know whether or not he is in fact the biological father and will not know until a parentage petition is filed. In order for the putative father to protect his rights pertaining to what may in fact be his child, the putative father must register with the Putative Father Registry within thirty days of the birth of the child.

The Putative Father Registry is useful in cases where the mother of the child falsely informs the putative father that the child is no longer of his concern because, for example, the child has been aborted, or another man is the father. If the putative father discovers that the aforementioned information is in fact false, and he has signed the Putative Father Registry within 30 days of the child’s birth, he still holds all of his rights to the child.

If, for example, the mother gives birth and decides to give the child up for adoption she may provide her written and oral irrevocable consent for the adoption to take place at an adoption proceeding; however, if the putative father wishes to withhold his rights to the child and prevent the adoption in order to take custody of the child he may do so if he has Registered with the Putative Father Registry within 30 days of the child’s birth.

Under the Illinois Adoption Act section entitled "Putative Father Registry" it states that a putative father must register no later than 30 days after the birth of the child. A putative father who fails to register with the Putative Father Registry within the specified time is barred from thereafter bringing or maintaining any action to assert any interest in the child unless he proves by clear and convincing evidence that:

(1) it was not possible for him to register within the period of time specified and
(2) failure to register was through no fault of his own and
(3) he registered within ten days after it became possible for him to file.

Putative fathers must be aware that the law has upheld the fact that a putative father has independent knowledge of the fact that he could have been the father by his own admissions that he had sexual relations with the mother during the time span within which the child could have been conceived. A father’s lack of knowledge of the pregnancy or birth does not justify the putative father’s failure to register. If the father participated in the child’s conception, he was on notice that a child could have been born nine months hence.

Of utmost importance and of paramount consideration of the court after the child is 30 days old is the obligation to provide the child with a permanent, capable, and loving family, and the legislative drafted laws requiring the courts to protect that child’s permanent home by following the time tables established. Although the results may be harsh in some cases when the court applies the law, the court must keep in mind the overall policy of the statue. For this reason it is very important for unwed fathers to register with the Putative Father Registry in order to protect their rights.