Orange County Paternity Lawyers

Paternity

Paternity is the legal identification of the father of a child. Paternity is always at issue when the parents of a child are not married. Even if on party admits they are father of the child and they are listed on the birth certificate, legal paternity must still be addressed by the court if the parents are not married. Once legal paternity is established, the acknowledged father will gain his legal rights to his child as well as take on responsibilities for supporting his child.

Paternity may be become a contentious matter and head to court when a couple does not agree on who the father of their child is. An action to establish paternity in the state of California is a civil proceeding. The state of California, requires that paternity in California be established by a “preponderance of the evidence,” which essentially means that the evidence must establish the strong likelihood that the man is the father of the child.

These days, DNA tests are an accepted scientific method of determining paternity. How does DNA testing work? It is a laboratory test that examined the genetic material that a child inherited from his or her biological parents. The DNA test will compare the material and calculate the probability that a certain man fathered a certain child. DNA testing is believed to establish a father’s paternity with over 99 % accuracy and has been a major breakthrough in establishing paternity.

There are many factors that make paternity determination legally significant:

• The father can now be held legally and financially responsible for his child, which means he must pay child support
• The father, who establishes his paternity, will get the necessary legal advantage in claiming visitation rights and becoming a part of his child’s life
• The child will now acquire various rights such as a right to an inheritance; eligibility to receive workers’ compensation benefits from father’s death or the right to sue for the father’s wrongful death.

If you are seeking to establish paternity or challenge paternity tests, please call an experienced Southern California Paternity Attorney at Wallin & Klarich. The laws that apply to paternity testing are complex. We can help guide you through the complicated legal process and get you the help and support you need. Call us today for a free consultation.

At Wallin & Klarich, we approach every case with the belief that the person we’re representing could easily be one of our own family members. We’ve seen firsthand how stressful legal matters can be for our clients and their loved ones. We are committed to being available to our clients at all times — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If you are involved in a family law matter in Southern California, you should call Wallin & Klarich today for a free evaluation of your case. Call 1-888-749-7428 or fill out our online consultation form to get in contact with a legal professional today. We will be there when you call.

Paternity Overview

In California, both parents have a duty to support their minor children. Recognizing the biological mother of a child is easy, but establishing who the biological father is can be more difficult. Paternity is the legal recognition of a person as a child’s father and subjects the person to a whole host of legal duties toward a child. The failure to perform those duties means the father could owe child support or even be charged with crimes.

First, it is important to define terms. A biological father is the person who entered into sexual relations with the mother, and the mother conceived a child with genes from both the biological mother and father. A presumed father means that if certain background circumstances exist, then the law will presume a person is the father of a child, with the attendant legal responsibilities. This presumption may be overcome, but the presumed father must act within a reasonable time to contest paternity. Usually, the presumed father and biological father are the same person, but occasionally, in paternity cases, they may be different.

Under California law, a husband who lives with the wife at the time the child was conceived is legally presumed to be the father of the wife’s child. This, of course, may not be true: the wife could have conceived the child with someone else, but the person who contests the husband’s paternity must prove that this is not the case. The easiest way to do this is through a paternity test, which is a test that takes a genetic sample from the husband, the wife, and the child, and analyzes the samples in a lab to determine the probability that the husband is the father of the wife’s child. However, only a test authorized by the court will be given legal effect.

Whether you’re a father or mother seeking to establish or deny paternity, contact a Southern California family law lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your options. In either case, you need to act quickly or the court may use the delay against you. Parenthood comes with significant duties but also profound rewards, so consult with a family law attorney to determine what your rights are. Parenthood is one of the most important relationships in your life, so you will need a legal professional on your side to help explain the laws to you.

If you or someone you know has an issue related to paternity, you will need an experienced Southern California family law attorney to advise you on the best course of action. At Wallin & Klarich, we have helped people with paternity issues for over 30 years. Call us today at (888) 749-7428. We will be there when you call.

Paternity Can You Overcome the Legal Presumption of Husband Paternity?

Though the most obvious way to overcome that a husband cohabiting with a wife at the time of conception is the father is through a paternity test, other methods may be available. For example, if the husband was sterile or impotent at the time of conception, then the presumption is overcome.

Also, for the family law court to recognize a paternity test, a party must request the paternity test to the court, and the court must authorize the request. Any test not authorized by the court has no legal effect, even if the test was properly performed and conclusively establishes that the husband is not the biological father.

Even if a husband is determined to be the biological father, the court may legally recognize someone else as the legal father under narrow circumstances. For example, if the wife divorces the husband shortly after conception, subsequently establishes a long-term relationship with a third party, and the third party believes he is the father of the child and represents himself to other people as the father, a court will look closely to determine if it would be unfair to establish paternity in the husband at the time of conception. This is true especially if the third party has a relationship with the child and the third party, the wife, and the child have considered themselves a family for a significant period of time. In such cases, the court may find that the third party is the legal father, even if he is not the biological father.

Note that this may have significant consequences. California courts prefer that a child grow up with two parents rather than one, and are inclined to legally recognize a presumed party who has a father-like relationship to the child, even if the facts later show that he is not the biological father. This may mean that, if a presumed father has established a relationship with a child, and significantly later determines that the presumed father is not the biological father, the court has the discretion to acknowledge the presumed father as the legal parent. This may apply even if the formerly presumed father no longer wants the legal responsibilities of parenthood over the non-biological child, as long as there are no other known potential or alleged biological fathers.

If a father acknowledged paternity in a court document, then he is no longer a presumed father: for court purposes, he is the legal father, even if tests later show he is not the biological father.

Whether you’re a father or mother seeking to establish or deny paternity, contact a Southern California family law lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your options. In either case, you need to act quickly or the court may use the delay against you. Parenthood comes with significant duties but also profound rewards, so consult with a family law attorney to determine what your rights are. Parenthood is one of the most important relationships in your life, so you will need a legal professional on your side to help explain the laws to you.

If you or someone you know has an issue related to paternity, you will need an experienced Southern California family law attorney to advise you on the best course of action. At Wallin & Klarich, we have helped people with paternity issues for over 30 years. Call us today at (888) 749-7428. We will be there when you call.

Paternity – Does a Legal Presumption Exist When the Mother Was Not Married or Planning on Getting Married at the Time of Conception?

Generally, no legal presumption exists as to the father of a child born by an unwed mother. However, a person who claims to be the father of a child born to an unwed mother may demonstrate to the court that he acted like a father as soon as he reasonably knew of the child or the pregnancy and establish legal rights to the child.

The court will look to the following factors in determining whether to establish paternity as to an alleged father who was not wed or planning to wed the mother at the time of conception:

•    Whether the alleged father publicly acknowledged paternity
•    Whether the alleged father paid medical expenses related to the pregnancy
•    Whether the alleged father took prompt legal action to establish paternity, or whether the delay in establishing legal paternity was reasonable
•    Any other action before or after the child’s birth that would indicate that the alleged father was taking full parental responsibility of the child

If the court finds that the alleged father sufficiently demonstrated that he acted as a father would, then the court may establish paternity in the alleged father. However, if the court finds that the alleged father did not act to take the appropriate level of parental responsibility, then the court may decline to establish paternity in him, even if he is shown to be the biological father.

If the biological mother was married and living with her husband at the time of conception, the mother can unilaterally block any attempt by another person seeking to establish himself as the biological father. However, if the mother and alleged father are unwed, the mother cannot unilaterally block an alleged father from establishing paternity solely because the mother and alleged father are not married.

Whether you’re a father or mother seeking to establish or deny paternity, contact a Southern California family law lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your options. In either case, you need to act quickly or the court may use the delay against you. Parenthood comes with significant duties but also profound rewards, so consult with a family law attorney to determine what your rights are. Parenthood is one of the most important relationships in your life, so you will need a legal professional on your side to help explain the laws to you.

If you or someone you know has an issue related to paternity, you will need an experienced Southern California family law attorney to advise you on the best course of action. At Wallin & Klarich, we have helped people with paternity issues for over 30 years. Call us today at (888) 749-7428. We will be there when you call.

Paternity FAQs

1. What is the legal status of the father if the child was a product of rape?

If a person was not married to the mother and convicted of rape or certain kinds of statutory rape, the person will not be presumed to be the father. However, if the person was not convicted of rape, he may try to establish paternity in the child.

2. How long does a father have a duty to support his children?

By law, both parents have a duty to support their children until they are 18 years old. However, the duty runs past the child’s 18th birthday if either the child is unmarried and in high school, or is permanently physically or emotionally incapacitated. The parents can also agree to support their children longer after the statutory date, meaning the agreement controls. However, if the child emancipates, joins the military, or gets married, then the child is considered an adult and any parental responsibilities terminate.

3. If a mother was artificially inseminated, does the biological father/donor who is not in a relationship with the mother have any legal rights to the child?

Generally, no. The law recognizes that the reasons couples choose artificial insemination do not fit well with the reasoning underlying most laws governing parent-child relations. Thus, California acknowledges that if a mother is artificially inseminated, paternity lies with the husband or significant other of the mother, not the donor.

4. If I am a presumed father, is there any way I can contest paternity by proving I’m not the biological father?

Yes, you can contest paternity as long as you do so within a reasonable time after discovering facts that indicate you may not be the biological father. However, even if you acted to contest paternity within a reasonable time of learning the relevant facts, the court is less inclined to disestablish paternity if you have already strongly bonded with the child and the child considered you his or her father for a significant period of time.

Whether you’re a father or mother seeking to establish or deny paternity, contact a Southern California family law lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your options. In either case, you need to act quickly or the court may use the delay against you. Parenthood comes with significant duties but also profound rewards, so consult with a family law attorney to determine what your rights are. Parenthood is one of the most important relationships in your life, so you will need a legal professional on your side to help explain the laws to you.

If you or someone you know has an issue related to paternity, you will need an experienced Southern California family law attorney to advise you on the best course of action. At Wallin & Klarich, we have helped people with paternity issues for over 30 years. Call us today at (888) 749-7428. We will be there when you call.