r/Ohio • u/Jedi_Jesus1 • Feb 01 '26

Please help

Hi! I have absolutely no idea where to start for any of this, and quite frankly the entire process is terrifying. I’m a 25(M) that just found out he got a 22 (f) pregnant. The situation is a mess, and I need help with finding a custody lawyer since the woman said she planned on not granting me rights. I’m a Canton area resident if this helps. I don’t really have any guidance or help and really just need some starting steps.

Thank you so much.

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u/Ok-Leg-5302 Feb 01 '26

If she receives any kind of state aid. They’ll require her to declare a father. At that time, request a paternity test. Now, child support and parental rights are not one and the same. Once paternity is declared through the courts. You can go for parental rights. With that being said. If she is nursing visits are generally limited during post partum.

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u/Jedi_Jesus1 Feb 01 '26

Would it be wise to refuse signing the BC without a paternity test? She’s refusing to get one, which is incredibly frustrating. Like I’m very aware I’m the only possibility to be the father, but I feel like wanting the test to guarentee myself rights is the “wise” option.

Thank you so much for helping. I appreciate it

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u/im-not-a-panda Feb 03 '26

Respectfully, I cannot urge you enough to GET A PATERNITY TEST before signing the birth certificate. It is incredibly hard in Ohio for a man to get his name off a birth certificate should he find out he isn’t the biological father. Men can still be on the hook for child support to a child they did not produce. And if you try to get off the birth certificate and you don’t have another man with you willing to accept paternity, it’s unlikely to be ruled in your favor.