What Are the Steps to Establish Paternity and Why Is It Important?

What Is Paternity and How Do You Establish It in California?

For unmarried parents, paternity can be a critical factor in child custody, child support, or parental rights cases. California law provides for several ways to demonstrate paternity, and if you’re not sure how paternity might impact your case, you can also talk to a family law attorney about your options.

What Is Paternity?

Paternity refers to a legal determination that a man is the biological father of a specific child. This determination must be made before a man can assert his father’s rights, including seeking custody or visitation. It also has to be established for the other parent to seek support from the biological father.

Paternity as a Married Parent

Paternity doesn’t have to be separately established in the case of a baby born to a married couple. The husband of the pregnant woman is assumed to be the biological father of the child and automatically has parental rights and responsibilities.

The same is true if the child is born within 300 days of a divorce. The ex-husband of the woman in question is assumed to be the biological father.

In both of these cases, the man or someone else with interest in the matter would have to contest the assumed paternity and prove that the husband or ex-husband is not the biological father to revoke the automatic parent rights and support responsibilities. For example, if a man believes he is the father of a child and the mother is married to someone else, the man who isn’t her husband may need to contest the paternity and make a case that he is the father to get father’s rights.

How to Establish Paternity in California as an Unmarried Parent

There are a few ways you can establish paternity in California if you are an unmarried parent. One is via a voluntary statement from both parents. The other avenue is through court proceedings.

Voluntary Statement From Both Parents

Both the mother and the father can sign a voluntary declaration of paternity. This is a free form that doesn’t involve going to court. However, once the form is completed and properly executed by both parents, it has the same power as a court order regarding paternity.

This may be the right option if you are both present when the baby is born or shortly thereafter because you may be able to complete this form in the hospital. This helps ensure both parents’ names are added to the child’s birth certificate.

You can also complete and sign this form at a later time. However, if you choose to do this, you must ensure that you sign it in front of a notary or at an appropriate government office. You can sign this form at the office for the registrar of births, at a local child support agency, at certain local courts, or in a local welfare office. Once the form is signed, you must file it with the Department of Child Support Services.

Signing the VDOP form may not be the best option in every case. You may give up your right to have genetic testing completed to determine paternity in the court, for example. However, there is a period of around 60 days after signing the form that you may be able to cancel it if you change your mind.

Before you complete a VDOP, if you aren’t sure about paternity, you can voluntarily undergo DNA testing. This may be an option if the mother and the potential biological father are working together to determine paternity.

Via Court Processes

In some cases, one of the parents involved may not want to recognize paternity or will not voluntarily submit to DNA testing or complete a VDOP form. If you are in this type of situation, you may need to turn to court processes to force the issue and establish paternity.

This can be the case if a man believes he is the biological father of a child but the mother is denying this fact in order to deny him visitation or custody. The man may need work to establish paternity by bringing a case in court.

On the other hand, the mother may believe a certain man is the father and seek support for the child from him. However, he might deny being the biological father to avoid parental responsibilities or because he truly doesn’t believe he is the father. In such a case, the mother might bring the case to court to try to prove paternity.

Get Help With Paternity Cases

Sometimes establishing paternity is a simple legal step two unmarried parents can take together by completing and filing a form. In many situations, however, paternity is not such a straightforward issue. If you are involved in a child custody or support case that hinges on establishing paternity or you want to assert father’s rights and need to establish paternity to do so, working with a family law attorney can be a good idea.

An experienced family law attorney can help you understand your options for establishing paternity and work on your behalf to complete necessary paperwork and filings. They can also present your case in court and help protect your interests as you try to do what you feel is in the best interests of your child. For help with paternity and other family law matters. contact Hepner & Pagan, LLP, at 408-688-9153.