There are many reasons that a person may want to establish paternity. A paternity determination, which is sometimes known as parentage, establishes that a father is the biological parent of a child and thus that the father has rights and obligations as a parent. When a person seeks to establish paternity, that person is seeking to show that a person is a child’s biological father, and therefore has legal rights and responsibilities concerning that child. While paternity can be established early in the life of a child, it may also take years before locating the presumed biological father of the child or before the father seeks a paternity determination. It is important for anyone with questions about establishing paternity to speak with a family lawyer in the state where a paternity determination will occur. Each state has its own laws pertaining to paternity or parentage, and it is essential to follow the process outlined by state law.
Establishing Paternity
While state laws differ slightly for purposes of establishing paternity, there are many similarities that exist across states. In most cases, there are two ways to establish paternity: to sign a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity form (which may go by another name in some states), or to file a paternity lawsuit or file a petition for the court to establish paternity. To be clear, when parents are married at the time of a child’s birth, there is no need to establish paternity. When parents are married at the time a child is born, both parents are the legal parents of the child. Establishing paternity is only necessary when parents are unmarried at the time of the child’s birth. To be clear, if a man is married to the woman giving birth and is married when the child is born, that man is the legal father of the child. However, if the man is not married to the woman giving birth, the parties will need to consider options for establishing paternity.
A voluntary acknowledgement of paternity form, or an affidavit of parentage, is something that can typically be signed in the hospital right at the time of the child’s birth. However, parents can still voluntarily acknowledge paternity later. Once the parties sign this form, then the state can amend the child’s birth certificate to include the father’s name as the legal parent of the child. Most hospitals will have these forms available, and the forms will comply with state law in that place. If the parents cannot or will not sign a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity or an affidavit of parentage, then the party seeking to establish paternity will need to file a petition with the court. In such cases, the court will decide about paternity or parentage, often based on DNA testing.
Process for Contesting Paternity
When no voluntary acknowledgement of paternity form or affidavit of parentage form has been signed because one or both of the parent’s contests or doubts paternity, then the court will need to make a determination about parentage. There are a variety of reasons that a person may contest paternity or that paternity may be in doubt. Most frequently, the father might question whether he is the biological father of the child and may want DNA proof that shows he is the father. When paternity is contested or one of the parent’s questions paternity, that parent will need to ask the court to make a paternity determination.
While rules can vary from state to state, most courts will order a DNA test. A DNA test will involve swabbing the cheek of the putative father’s cheek, and similar samples will also be taken from the mother and the child. A laboratory will perform a DNA analysis to determine whether the putative father is likely the child’s biological—and thus legal—father. If a putative father is not the child’s biological father, then that father typically does not have any parental rights or obligations concerning the child. However, in some states, when a father has raised a child under the presumption that he is the child’s biological father only to learn otherwise many years later, that father may still be entitled to certain rights and may have some obligations. It is important to look at specific state laws concerning the process for contesting paternity or determining paternity.
Filing a Paternity Lawsuit
When paternity is in question, multiple parties may be eligible to file a paternity lawsuit in order to ask the court to order a DNA test to determine paternity. To be clear, once a child is born, the biological mother or the putative father will likely be the parties seeking to establish or determine paternity. Either the biological mother or the putative father can be eligible to petition the court to determine paternity at this early date. Once a child is older but is not yet an adult, the biological mother might file a paternity lawsuit in order to obtain child support and other forms of support from the putative father. The putative father also might learn, at a later point in the child’s life, that he may be the biological father. At that point, the putative father might petition for a paternity determination.
Once the child can file a claim, the child also might file a paternity lawsuit. There are many reasons for a child to need information about parentage. Indeed, it is extremely important to establish paternity for a variety of reasons. Establishing paternity ensures that the child has the same rights it would have if the parents were married, meaning that the child will have legal rights to emotional and financial support. The child can also be eligible for certain benefits from the father, such as Social Security benefits, veteran’s benefits, health insurance benefits, and life insurance benefits. The child can also have access to family medical histories, which can be essential for preventing and diagnosing disease. In addition, establishing paternity is essential for a father who wants to seek child custody rights and to have other parental rights concerning the child.
