Parental rights: What rights my son have and what obligations does he have?

[s133924]

My Son's girlfriend told him this past December that she was pregnant with his child. He also knows that she was seeing her exboyfriend at the same time. My son was thrilled and wanted to make plans as a family. The girlfriend could not handle it and went back to the old boyfriend. Now, the baby is due next month and she tells me that she is not going to give the baby my Son's last name. She does, however, plan to have child support taken out of his wages. She has not allowed him to have any say so in naming the child, or any other matters concerning him. We know that the baby is a boy and my son is heartbroken. What rights does he have and what obligations does he have considering that it may not even be his child. I desperately need advice as this is driving me crazy. If it is his child, I want to have an ongoing relationship with him. I want him to know that I am his Grandmother and that we love him. My Son also has the same hopes. Please help me out.

[tbyte]

I am sorry to hear about your situation.
In most States, the mother of a child born out of wedlock has full and total custody by default. It is her decision to name the child. No court is going to intervene and insist that the child have your son's last name. Stop fighting this battle, as you cannot win it and there are more important issues to deal with.
Your son has the right to pursue legal visitation through the courts. He can start the ball rolling now by filing an affidavit asserting that he believes himself to be the father of the unborn child. Or, he can wait until the child is born and file a motion requesting a paternity test. Considering the nature of the situation I STRONGLY suggest option #2.