Paternity
In parentage cases, also called “paternity cases,” the court makes orders that say who the child’s legal parents are.
If parents are married when a child is born, there is usually no question about parentage. The law assumes that the married persons are the chlid’s legal parents, so parentage is automatically established in most cases.
But for unmarried parents, parentage of their children needs to be established legally.
In some cases, the law may also determine that a chlid has more than 2 legal parents.
What It Means to Establish Parentage
Establishing parentage means obtaining a court order or signing an official Declaration of Paternity that says who the legal parents of a child are. For example, if the parents of a child were not married when the mother became pregnant or when the child was born, the child does not have a legal father until parentage is established. So even if a father can prove he is the biological father of a child, if he was never married to the mother, he does not legally have any rights or responsibilities for the child. For that, parentage must be established legally.
Establishing parentage is also necessary for same-sex parenting situations if the parents were not married when the mother became pregnant or when the child was born. For example, if two unmarried women agree to co-parent a child, and the woman who did not give birth to the child wants to be established as a legal parent, she would have to ask the court for an order establishing her parental rights legally. The court may order the person trying to establish herself as the “other mother” to prove the couple intended that she be the child’s parent. The same would be true of a same-sex relationship in which two men intended to be the child’s parents. They would have to prove to the court that they intended to be the child’s parents, and that they behaved that way.
Once a person is established as the father or mother of a child, he or she will have all the rights and responsibilities of a parent:
He or she will be able to request custody and visitation (parenting time) orders from the court so that he or she can legally visit with his or her child.
He or she also will be responsible for paying child support and will have to pay half of the uninsured health-care costs for the children and half of the child-care costs that result from the custodial parent getting or having a job or going to school.
In California, in some cases the court may determine a child has more than 2 parents. This is usually done when it would hurt the child if additional parents were not legally recognized.
Reasons for Establishing Parentage of a Child
Establishing parentage is very important for a child. First, the child gets the emotional benefit of knowing who both of his or her parents are. And, legally, it entitles the child to the same rights and privileges as those of a child whose parents are married.
These legal rights and privileges are:
Financial support from both parents;
Legal documentation identifying both parents;
Having the names of both parents on the child’s birth certificate;
Access to family medical records and history;
Health and life insurance coverage from either parent;
The right to inherit from either parent; and
The right to receive social security and veteran’s benefits, if available.
Once parentage is established, the court can make orders for child support, health insurance, child custody, visitation (parenting time), name change, and reimbursement of pregnancy and birth expenses. Without establishing parentage, the court cannot make orders regarding these issues. So if 1 parent needs child support and the other will not pay voluntarily, the court will not be able to order child support until parentage is established.
And even if 1 of the child’s biological parents does not have any money or a job to support the child or does not want to be involved in the child’s life, it is still a good idea to establish parentage. The benefits to a child of establishing parentage go far beyond the financial issues as the list above shows and include things like allowing the child to get child support or health insurance later on, when the other parent gets a job or is in a better financial situation.
If the situation is one in which there are more than 2 parents, all parents would have the rights and responsibilities of parentage.
Ways to Establish Parentage
There are 2 main ways to establish parentage when the child’s parents are not married:
Signing a voluntary Declaration of Paternity,
OR
Getting a court order (either on your own or with the help of the Local Child Support Agency).
A voluntary Declaration of Paternity is a California governmental form that, when signed by both parents, establishes them as the legal parents of the child. The form must be signed voluntarily. No one can force either person to sign the form. The purpose of the Declaration of Paternity is to officially and legally establish who the parents of the child are when the parents are not married to each other.
A properly signed Declaration of Paternity has the same effect as a court order establishingparental relationship for the child, without anyone having to go to court.
Once the declaration is signed, the form must be filed with the California Department of Child Support Services Paternity Opportunity Program in order to be effective.
For matters on spousal support, contact an experienced divorce attorney. Brett Thorsteinson is your trusted divorce and family law attorney. With offices in Long Beach and Huntington Beach, we serve clients throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
