Establishing Paternity When the prospective father is deceased and the mother is adjudicated incapacitated

by Shannon K
(Geneva, Florida, USA )

I am the custodial maternal grandmother of my granddaughter. I have had temporary custody by extended family member since 2012. Since then the mother (my daughter) has been adjudicated incapacitated (2014) and I was subsequently appointed her plenary guardian of property and person. My granddaughter’s father was a fixture in my granddaughter’s life although my daughter wasn’t sure of the father due to a brain injury during our temporary custody proceeding. My granddaughter’s father passed away on March 1, 2021. CSE took my granddaughter’s DNA but never took it from the father to establish paternity. I recently paid to have my granddaughter and the father’s biological sister tested for DNA. The prospective father is the biological father based on familial DNA testing. How can I establish paternity so my granddaughter has her father listed on her birth certificate, be an heir for future litigation by the estate, and add the father’s last name to her birth certificate? The Florida forms to establish paternity don’t apply as the mother is incapacitated and cannot start a legal action, nor would she understand the proceedings.