Hello Listmates. I have a very strange situation.

My client had two children with a woman. The baby is only 6 or 7 months old and was left in the care of the maternal grandmother in New York. The older girl is 5, was born here, and resided here, and then the mother took off to China with her at the end of July. I am trying to track down an address for her.

The parties were never married. I have requested birth certificates for both children. For the boy, I received a letter that no birth certificate exists. For the older girl, I need to request it. My client is uncertain if he is on either birth certificate and if he signed an acknowledgement of paternity.

Do I need to file a paternity proceeding first for both children to obtain an Order of Filiation ( and do I do this by two separate petitions since there are two children), and then once I have that, file a petition for custody/visitation under the UCCJEA?  Can I file both simultaneously?

Thanks very much for any guidance.

Best Regards,

Gail B. Saul, Esq.

THE SAUL LAW FIRM, LLP

"Our Family Serving Yours"

377 Oak Street, Suite 210

Garden City, New York 11530

Tel.: (516) 794-1000

Fax: (516) 794-0359

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