Paternity Rights and the law

Paternity rights whether it comes to children is quite an issue everywhere. Normally, one can encounter two situations. The first is pretty common, an unmarried woman have a child and wished to seek child support from the biological father of the baby. The other case is the opposite because it is the man who wants his rights over a child he believes to be his.

More about Paternity Rights

A father has every right if he wishes to prove that he has fathered a child. In this day and age however he will require two things:

  • A paternity test
  • A court order

The father can petition in court for a paternity DNA test. The court may not necessarily pay for the legal fees and the test. The intervention of the court very much depends on whether the mother consents to the DNA paternity test or refuses to submit the baby for DNA testing. In the latter case, the father will actually have to get the court to impose or rather order a paternity test to be carried out.
Conversely, should the mother consent to the paternity test she can opt to have a legal paternity test done by a DNA testing company and then present this to the court should the test be an inclusion of paternity. Like this, the father in question, who has been proved to be the biological, may assume his legal responsibilities such as child support payments.
If the father wishes to have the court issue a court ordered paternity test he will need provide evidence that can make the court believe that he might be father of the child which would mean proving some kind of relationship with the mother.

Can the court refuse a paternity test?

There is time frame in which the father has to make his claim in court; if a father makes a claim to paternity 2 years after he has become aware of the birth of the child his claim might well be turned down.

The results of the paternity test

The results of a court ordered test go straight to the court and are considered. If the results show that alleged father is the biological father of the child, a paternity order is issues. Paternity rights secure a father when there is a challenge to paternity