Establishing Paternity Rights Entitles a Child to have:
- Medical history information
- Health or life insurance benefits
- Financial support
- Social Security, veteran’s benefits, military benefits
- Inheritances
- The father’s name on the birth certificate
How Paternity is Established
When a couple is married, and a child is born, the child’s legal father is assumed to be the mother’s spouse. When a child is born to an unmarried mother, the child’s father can complete a Paternity Acknowledgment Form if both parents agree. In that case, the father’s name will be added to the birth certificate. When the mother of a child or the alleged father is not in agreement, paternity can be established by filing for a civil action in court. Genetic samples can prove or disprove paternity. Once paternity is determined, the parents can move forward to petition for child support, custody, and visitation rights.
Solutions for Complicated Issues regarding Paternity and Family Law Matters
At Downer Law, we represent mother’s and father’s rights in paternity actions. Many times, a mother seeks to prove paternity to obtain needed child support or to share in the responsibilities of child rearing. If a child was born out of wedlock, an alleged father might have to take legal action to assume their role as a parent. Without legal paternity, a mother can deny visitation rights, can relocate, and refuse to allow any access to her child. An alleged father can disestablish paternity by filing a petition with the court. However, depending on the facts of the case, the court can require an alleged father to pay child support, even if the child is not biologically his.