Can you claim child support without the father signing the birth certificate?

[Wildtimes]

Hi,
I am currently pregnant and not in a relationship with the father.
He has already stated that he will have little involvement with the child and every time we speak he states that he will do less then what he previously stated. At this point I am quite aware that there will be no involvement from his side.

I wanted to set up some kind of financial support from him outside of the court but he has been so unreliable, I doubt this will be the case. I would like to know if he doesn't sign the birth certificate will I be able to claim child support from him?

[Musereader]

Yes you can, they do contact him to ask him if he is the father, if he denies it then they will order you to take a dna test. The bc is utterly irrelevant.

[Stronger76]

Yes you can. He doesn't need to be named on the birth certificate and if he refuses CMS they will insist on a DNA test (refusal of which I think means they assume parentage) and he will be financially liable. Good luck!

[GeriGeranium]

Yes definitely,

You name him as the father. If he denies it they offer him a dna test. If he refuses to do the dna test they assume he’s the father. Birth certificate doesn’t make a difference here.

Definitely do not put him on the birth certificate if he’s unlikely to be involved. If you name him he has parental responsibility - so you’d need his permission when choosing a school, going on holidays abroad etc, which will be a nightmare if he’s not actually interested.

[Leflic]

If you aren’t married he will have to turn up to sign BC. It is, as others have said, much better not to have him on it. Easier to get passports and other documents as a legal one parent family. Won’t make any difference to your child as they will have evidence of a father through DNA.
It’s worth claiming CM just for the DNA test. Then no one can claim years later they would have done more but they weren’t sure if the baby was theirs. That does seem to be a common theme.
There is the possibility of a bit more negotiating with this scheme. In all honesty would go for less money if it means less contact. Money can make people behave very badly. Every strained post on MN involves Ex’s being difficult, introductions to future girlfriends, children being let down on contact etc.
I have gone for the telling my child 100% positive comments about their father but as a sort of absent friend. I never heard from him again after getting pregnant.We had been together years. However is very much easier and far less drama.I wouldn’t prevent contact but so far neither the father or my son have asked about each other ( we do meet up with my Ds’s aunt a couple of times a year though).