Establishing Parental Relationships

What is establishing parentage?

• In California establishing parentage is determining who the legal parents of a child are if the parents were not married when the child was born. 

Is it important to establish paternity for your children?

• Establishing paternity is necessary before the court can order child support or visitation orders.  If parents are not married at the point of a child’s conception, paternity is at issue.  Paternity can be established by signing a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity form or by filing a civil action to establish paternity and a child support order.  Blood tests may be requested to determine whether or not he is the father of the child.  There are many good reasons for parents to legally establish the paternity of their child:
• A man’s name cannot appear on his child’s birth certificate unless paternity has been established. 
• A child is entitled to financial support, including child support, social security benefits, veteran’s benefits, military allowances, and inheritance, once paternity has been established. 
• A child may be entitled to health insurance through his/her father, as well as his/her mother, once paternity has been established. 
• A child deserves to know who both his/her parents are, including having access to both their medical histories. 

Mother’s Perspective

• Establishing paternity will entitle your child to certain legal rights – especially the right to receive child support.  This helps mothers improve financial security for the family.  Additionally, once a father is named, the mother will have help in sharing parental responsibilities.    

Father’s Perspective

• Establishing paternity will give you legal rights to make decisions about your underage child’s medical care, education, lifestyle, and well being, as well as allowing you to seek custody and/or visitation with your child. 
• Additionally, if you have been supporting a child, and you discover a child is not yours, it will give you peace of mind and freedom from the serious responsibility of being a father.   

Conclusion 

• A paternity case deals only with parentage, child support, and child custody.  Once parentage is established, issues such as child custody, support, and visitation will be handled under the same rules and laws as they are in a dissolution proceeding.
• The local child support agency can help a parent establish paternity.  Call the agency and ask to open a case for parentage and support.
• Under California law, a person can be a “legal parent” without being the biological parent.
• See http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/ for more information. 
• See www.occcourts.org for forms necessary to establish parentage in court in Orange County.