For unmarried parents in San Mateo, California, establishing paternity can be vital. Unless a man is officially established as the father of a child, he has no rights in that child’s life. And unless a man is officially established as the father of the child, he also has no responsibilities, meaning he cannot be pursued for child support by the mother. If you’re a father or other parent whose name is not on the birth certificate of your child, you currently have no rights, and you need to contact a family law attorney quickly to establish your rights.
What Are Your Rights If You’re Not on the Birth Certificate?
The answer to this question is pretty simple. If you are not on the birth certificate, you do not have any rights regarding your child. You must establish your paternity before you can exercise any parental rights.
If a couple was married at the time their child was born, both are automatically put on the birth certificate. But for unmarried parents, paternity must be established. The easiest way for that to happen is for the parents to both sign a voluntary declaration of paternity at the time of the birth. If both parents are willing to sign this voluntarily, then the father’s name will be put on the birth certificate. If you failed to get this done, you’ll need to establish paternity, and you’ll definitely want the help of a family lawyer to do so.
How to Establish Paternity
If you and the child’s mother did not sign a voluntary declaration of paternity at the time your child was born, but both of you are willing to do so now, you can do this at a public agency such as a superior court in the city where you live. You must also then file this form with the California Department of Child Support Services, and until you do so, it is not valid.
Bear in mind that when you sign the declaration, both you and the child’s mother are acknowledging and freely admitting that you are the child’s parent. You are waiving your right to hire a lawyer and go to court to determine parentage after the fact. Once you’ve signed this form, you cannot request genetic DNA testing to establish your parenthood. This is, essentially, irrevocable. Bear in mind also that this form must be filled out correctly and filed properly, or it is useless, so talk to a lawyer to make sure it’s done right if this is the way you want to go.
If the mother is not willing to sign this, or if you are unsure if the child is yours and want to do DNA testing, you’ll need to do that testing or get court orders for it. It’s always best to talk to a lawyer about all your options in this situation, because once you sign the declaration, it’s almost impossible to undo it. If you have any concerns that you might discover later that a child is not yours, it’s best to find out before signing anything.
Paternity and Child Support
Once paternity is established, you become responsible for your child. This means you and the mother must take care of your child equally if you should separate, and this often means having to pay child support. It will all depend on who has custody of the child and your respective incomes as well as your child’s needs.
It’s important to understand, however, that even refusing to put your name on a birth certificate or sign a voluntary declaration of paternity doesn’t get you out of child support. In these cases, a mother can take the father to court and get court orders to force the establishment of paternity. If the court orders a DNA test and it shows that the man is the father, the man then becomes responsible for child support.
Paternity and Child Custody
You’ll need to establish your paternity if you want to have custody of your child and have any rights to participate in your child’s life. Bear in mind that however good a relationship you may have with the child’s mother at the time the child is born, if that should change, you have no legal way to continue participating in your child’s life if the mother denies you access. You will be entirely at the mercy of the child’s mother and her decisions unless you take proactive steps to prove that you are your child’s father.
Once you’ve proven that you’re the child’s father, you are entitled to custody and visitation of your child and also the right to be involved in making decisions for your child’s life, unless there are court orders to the contrary. If you have concerns about the fitness of the child’s mother, remember that establishing paternity will give you legal standing to ask for sole custody.
Other Benefits to Establishing Paternity
If you have not established paternity over your child, you will also want to consider a few other benefits that can be very important. For example, your insurance plan from work may not cover your child unless you can be proven to be the father. If you should pass away without a will in place, California intestacy laws would not allow your child to inherit from you unless you have definitively proven that you are the father.
Same-Sex Relationships and Paternity
With same-sex partnerships, it can be more difficult to work out some of these issues, and it’s very important to talk to a family law attorney with extensive experience in the California courts. The legal nature of your relationship to your child will depend on several factors, including whether you were legally married before the child came into your home and precisely how the child came to your home. The child could be adopted, and if that happened in a state where your marital union was legally acknowledged, it’s usually simpler to declare parentage. But if you only had a domestic partnership at the time of the adoption, the water has become murkier. If you had the child through a surrogate, things can also be difficult, depending on the precise situation.
If you and your same-sex partner have never been married or even had an official domestic partnership, then you’re going to face all the same difficulties as any unmarried couple and will have to establish parentage and your rights through experienced legal help. If two female partners have a child biologically, the woman who did not actually give birth will need to establish legal parental rights with the court. For two male partners, both must prove to the court that they intend to be the child’s parent and have functioned as such if they need to establish paternity after a separation.
There’s a lot of complexity to the law if you’re not on your child’s birth certificate, regardless of your situation, so talk to an attorney as soon as possible if you need to establish a legal relationship to your child. At Seeley Family Law Practice, APC, we’ve been serving families through the Bay Area for over 35 years. Contact us today for experienced help.