If you’re a mom or dad going through a divorce, you may have heard the term parentage – but what is parentage, and how does it apply to your child custody and child support issues?
Parentage is a legal term that the courts use to determine who is responsible for supporting a child. You don’t have to be a biological parent to be legally responsible for the child – in fact, the courts can establish parentage for adoptive parents, same-sex couples and others who have agreed to take legal responsibility for a minor child.
If your child was born when you were not married, you typically must establish parentage to work out custody and visitation, as well as child support. After the courts establish parentage, the legal parents are officially responsible.
You can establish parentage in several ways at any time during the child’s life. One of the most common is by signing a Declaration of Paternity. You can sign this voluntary declaration and file it with the California Department of Child Support Services; once that’s done, you’re the child’s legal father (and you don’t need a court order to establish parentage if you’ve already filed a Declaration of Paternity).
Other ways to establish parentage include:
In many cases, you don’t have to establish parentage – the court just presumes (makes an assumption) that the two people involved are the child’s parents.
The court presumes parentage if:
It’s tough to change parentage – even if you have biological proof that the presumed parent isn’t actually the child’s parent. If you have established parentage by signing a Declaration of Paternity, you have two years to challenge it in court; you must prove either that you signed it under duress or fraud, or that you are not the biological parent of the child by using a DNA test.
If you need to talk to a family law attorney in Stockton about parentage and how it applies in your child custody or child support case, we’re here to help.
Call us at 209-910-9865 to talk about your situation. We’ll give you the case-specific advice you need right now.
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