What is paternity?

Paternity simply means fatherhood. In a legal context, paternity is a legal acknowledgement that a man is the father of a child.

Why is paternity important?

Paternity creates a legal relationship between a father and a child. A child may have certain legal rights if paternity is established, including:

• Financial Support. Both parents are required to contribute to the financial support of the child. If a mother wishes to compel the father to contribute to the support of the child, the mother must first establish paternity.
  
• Inheritance Rights. The child may be entitled to inherit from the father upon his death.
  
• Insurance Proceeds. The child may qualify for benefits under his father's medical insurance plan. The child may be able to recover the proceeds of his father's life insurance policy.
  
• Government Benefits. The child may qualify for government benefits, such as social security or veteran's benefits.

How is paternity established?

There are three ways to establish paternity:

1. Presumption. If a child is born during a marriage or conceived during the marriage, the husband is presumed to be the father of the child. If no one challenges the husband's paternity, the presumption will establish his paternity of the child. Either the husband or the wife may attempt to rebut the presumption in court.
   
2. Acknowledgement. The father may voluntarily sign an acknowledgement of paternity. If the acknowledgement is not challenged, it will establish the father's paternity.
   
3. Court Order. The mother of a child or a man who claims to be the biological father of the child may go to court to establish paternity by court order. The court will usually order blood, tissue, or DNA tests. The court will make a determination of paternity or non-paternity based upon the results of the tests, the testimony of the parties, and all other relevant evidence. In some states, a court will not permit a man to deny paternity if he holds the child out as his own or takes other actions indicating that he is the child's father.

Copyright 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.