If you’re in a functional romantic relationship and have kids together, no one even thinks about testing or proving paternity. There is no need; the family unit is the family unit.  However, if a mother’s unmarried and has a child with someone who refuses to pay child support; or a husband thinks his wife’s child isn’t his; then that is an entirely different kettle of fish.  This is a significant and challenging issue that can affect family members for decades, perhaps for life.

What is Paternity?

Paternity is a legal determination that Man X is Child Y’s actual biological parent. It’s almost universally assumed the mother is, in fact, the child’s mother.  However, a man’s paternity may not be established upon the child’s birth.  A man may challenge paternity under certain circumstances.  Legal status comes with the rights and responsibilities of parenthood, including the right to:

• Custody and/or parenting time
• Parental obligations for child support

Having paternity proved compels you to support your child — and children are usually better off with both parents in their lives. You may fear or dread parenthood, but you should be open to what you could bring to your child’s life and what they could bring to yours.

How to Establish Paternity?

If both parents are married when the child’s born, it’s assumed the husband is the father. Paternity must be established to create a legal relationship between an unmarried father and child. It’s the first step toward paying child support and for the father to get child custody or parenting time. Other important issues include:

• Obtaining health insurance, if it’s available, through a father’s employer
• Protecting a child’s ability to collect benefits, assets, and/or property if the father dies, such as veteran’s or Social Security benefits, or if the father dies without a Will
• Creating a link to the child’s past
• Knowing the father’s name, family, and medical history

If a man agrees he’s the father, he can sign a Certificate of Parentage (COP) to document his voluntary acknowledgment. This can be done as early as in the hospital after the child’s born. Teenage boys, not just adult men, can establish paternity without a parent’s or legal guardian’s consent.

How Would a Court Order a DNA Test?

An interested party (mother, the presumed father, a potential biological father, or the child) can file an action for paternity. If the party wants to challenge the legal presumption of parentage (that the mother’s husband is the father), they must provide the court with clear and convincing evidence of an alternate basis for parentage. The court will order a DNA test depending on the claim’s timing and other facts.

When can genetic testing be done?

• If the alleged father disagrees, the mother can start the process
• If a man believes he’s the father, but the mother denies it, he can go to court for an order
• If a minor accuses someone of being their father, they can ask a court to order a test
• A court or county child welfare office may also order a test

The test requires a small saliva sample. If the test score is 95 percent or above, then the man is legally presumed to be the father. The court will issue a Judgment of Paternity based on test results and other evidence.

Is There a Deadline to Establish Paternity?

New Jersey’s Parentage Act governs this process. It generally requires that a legal action to establish paternity be filed within five years after the child reaches 18, so the statute of limitations is 23 years from the birth date of the child.

Kingston Law Group: Get the Help You Need from Attorneys You Can Trust

If you have any questions about establishing or defeating paternity, child support, or custody and parenting time, then call the Central Jersey law offices of the Kingston Law Group at 609-683-7400, or contact us online for a near-term reduced fee initial consultation. We will listen to your facts, explain the law, and advise you how to reach your social and legal goals. We will present optimal choices to protect your legal rights and interests and those of your actual child(ren). Call or write us today. You will be glad you did.