Establishing Paternity

It is not uncommon for lawyers to be called by men who have been served with notice that they are the subjects of paternity actions. It is also not at all unusual for men to contact lawyers to inquire how they can establish the right to parenting time (visitation) with their children, born out of wedlock. At times, it will be necessary to establish paternity for other reasons, such as obtaining government benefits upon the death of the child's father.

Contested Paternity Actions
Contested paternity actions arise either as private actions, or are brought by the state. A private action for paternity is usually meant primarily to secure child support payments from the father, or parenting time with the child. The state will usually commence a paternity action through a prosecutor's office where the mother applies for state assistance, so the state may btain full or partial reimbursement of any grant of aid from the child's father. A person tentatively identified as the child's father in paternity litigation is referred to as the "putatitive father" pending the resolution of the case.

Where a paternity action names the putative father as a defendant, the putative father has the choice of either consenting to the entry of a paternity judgment, or of contesting the action - asserting either that he is not the father, or requesting that DNA tests be performed to confirm his paternity. Paternity testing is now usually performed through a DNA test based upon a cheek swab, and it is not ordinarily necessary to draw a blood sample. If the putative father disagrees with the result of a court-ordered paternity test, he has the right to seek and introduce an independent paternity test.

Where a paternity action names the mother as defendant, she faces the same essential choices as the father. She may either consent to having the putative father named as the child's legal father, or may request paternity testing to confirm that he is the father.

In the most unusual paternity litigation in which has been involved, two men brought a combined paternity action against the mother of a child. Following DNA testing, it was established that neither man was the child's biological father.

Non-Contested Paternity Actions
Some men are confident that they are the biological father of the child, or wish to maintain a legal relationship with the child whether or not they are the father, and thus either initiate paternity actions or consWhen you consent to the entry of a paternity order, you consent for lifeent to the entry of a paternity order. Ordinarily, once such an order is entered, it entitles the father to parenting time (visitation) with the child, and creates a legal duty for the father to provide child support.

Please note the following: . Most jurisdictions will not allow you to escape the consequences of that order, including the requirement that you pay child support, even if you can later prove that you are not the child's biological father. If there is any chance that you will resent the child, or wish to break off your relationship to the child, if you ultimately learn that you are not the child's biological father, by all means obtain a DNA test before admitting that you are the child's father. Some studies suggest a non-paternity rate for children born inside marriage of twenty percent or more. Outside of marriage, you have even fewer assurances. If you consent to being named as the child's father, be sure that you are willing to live up to that designation no matter what you may later learn.