Establishing Your Paternity
For the sake of the child involved, a biological father’s identity should be known and documented with the help of a paternity lawyer. As such an attorney, I can help ensure this process is complete, regardless of the child’s age or the father’s whereabouts.
Establishing paternity of a child can be done in one of two ways: Voluntarily or Involuntarily. If the father volunteers to establish paternity, this can be done at the time of birth by signing a Declaration of Paternity or, if not present at the time of birth, by signing an affidavit of paternity. The latter can be signed up until the child turns 18 years old.
If you find yourself dealing with a biological father who does not want to cooperate and you wish to declare him the father involuntarily, a paternity lawyer can help.
When someone thinks of a family law attorney, these are the main areas of support you can expect to provide. I provide a wide array of additional services surrounding family law so if you are in need of assistance with something not listed, please don’t hesitate to reach out and I will be happy to let you know if I am able to help or not.
The Importance of Establishing Paternity
The importance of establishing paternity isn’t solely for the benefits of child support for your child, but also for medical reasons. Knowing the identity of the father is important when it comes to providing medical record information for your child.
Does the biological father have a history of heart disease? Diabetes? High blood pressure? These are things a medical staff will need to incorporate into your child’s medical record to ensure they receive proper treatment throughout their lifetime.
In addition to establishing paternity for medical reasons, a paternity lawyer can help to complete this process so that the child can be the recipient of any death benefits they may be entitled to from the father after their passing. If the biological father has any assets or Veteran’s benefits, they may be unable to receive these rewards if no paternity has been established.
Establishing Paternity without the Father’s Cooperation
If the father is part of the child’s life, or willing to cooperate with the process of establishing, the process can be quite simple.
On the other hand, a father unwilling to cooperate can still be legally established as the biological father. When working with a paternity lawyer such as myself, a mother can file an affidavit indicating the alleged father and they will be contacted.
If you fear this person will still be unresponsive to your claim, there are ways they can be found through government subsidies. Once found, they will be given the chance to claim their status as the biological parent. Or they can refuse, which will lead to a paternity test to be taken.
If, after 60 days of receiving a positive paternity test result, they do not respond, the results will be recognized as conclusive.
Looking for the Assistance of a Paternity Lawyer?
If you find yourself in a situation where the alleged father will not cooperate and establish paternity, give me a call and I can help walk you through the next steps.