Paternity

If you are not married to your children’s other parent and want to obtain court orders regarding custody, visitation and child support, you must file a Petition to Establish Paternity.  Either parent may file and request the court find that they and the other parent are the legal parents of the child.

There are several ways to establish that you or the other parent are the child’s legal father.  For example, in California, a court can find you are a child’s legal father, even if you are not the biological father, if you brought the child into your home and held them out to be your own child.  Of course, a paternity test will also establish whether a alleged parent is the legal parent.  Also, if the alleged father was present at the hospital when the child was born and signed a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity (VDOP), the court will find that he is the legal father of the child.  If a father subsequently doubts whether he is the child’s biological father he only has two years to ask the court to set the VDOP aside and find that he is not the legal father of the child.

If the mother has filed a Petition to Establish Paternity and you do not believe you are the father of the child you can ask the court for a paternity test.

If the court finds that you are the child’s legal father, then the court can make orders regarding who will have custody of the child and what parenting plan is in the child’s best interest.

Actions to Establish Paternity can be difficult to navigate.  Having an experienced attorney on your side to help you prepare your court paperwork and appear in court with you is essential to make sure that the parenting plan ordered is in your child’s best interest and that the child support order complies with state guidelines.

Here at Lord & Brooker, APC, we have extensive experience navigating this area of law to get the best results for our clients.  Whether you are a mother trying to obtain a support order or a father trying to get reasonable visitation with your child, we can help.