Hire Our Firm for Help with Your Paternity Case
If you’re a parent who needs to prove the paternity of a child for legal, financial, or personal reasons, you should reach out to experienced paternity lawyers for help with this process. You deserve to get fast, accurate answers to any questions you have regarding paternity, as knowing the truth will have a significant impact on your family.
When you hire Kreider Attorneys At Law to handle your family law matters, you can rest assured that our team will provide compassionate, skilled guidance throughout your case. Whether you need to establish paternity before moving forward on a child support, custody, or visitation case or want to secure important benefits for your child, our family law attorneys are here to assist you. Contact our Greensboro, North Carolina law firm to learn more.
What Are the Most Common Reasons for Establishing Paternity?
Paternity refers to the legal recognition of a child’s father, granting him certain rights and responsibilities as long as the paternity of the child is not in question. This is most common when a child is born to married parents, as there is a legal presumption that the husband is the child’s father and should automatically have parental rights.
However, when a child is born to unmarried parents or when there is any reason to question the identity of the biological father, it may be necessary to establish paternity. Otherwise, the father, mother, and child could all be missing out on some important benefits.
In particular, pursuing a paternity action can help by:
- Determining who pays child support, as the legal father has an obligation to help the mother pay for food, housing, medical care, clothing, and other necessities for the child
- Giving the father the right to pursue child custody or visitation, since only the legally recognized father can be granted visitation and custodial rights
- Allowing the child the right to collect benefits through their father, such as Social Security payments, health insurance coverage, veterans’ benefits, and any inheritance from their father’s estate
- Ensuring the child has access to their full family medical history so they’re aware of any genetic conditions that could affect them
- Giving the child a sense of belonging and personal connection with their father
If you want your family to reap these benefits but you’re unsure of a child’s parentage, you may need to initiate a paternity action to determine without a doubt who the biological father is. Our experienced lawyers have helped numerous clients establish paternity and resolve additional family law issues, so call our office today to start your North Carolina paternity case.
How Can You Establish Paternity in North Carolina?
If you’re ready to establish paternity in this state, you should reach out to Greensboro attorneys to determine how to get started with this legal process. You have a few options to choose from, depending on your relationship with the child’s mother and your reason for wanting to establish paternity.
The simplest way to establish parentage is for the child’s father to prove to the court that he was married to the child’s mother when the child was born, as this results in a legal presumption of paternity. If the parents were not married at the time of the child’s conception or birth, but they agree on the paternity of the child, they can sign an Affidavit of Parentage declaring the biological relationship between the child and father.
When the mother and father do not agree on who the biological father is, DNA testing may be required. For example, if a mother wants to request child support from the father, but he refuses to acknowledge that he’s the biological father, she can initiate a civil action for paternity through the court system. This will result in a court order for the alleged father to undergo genetic testing. If the DNA test results show that he’s the biological father, he will be required to pay child support.
In some cases, a father might initiate a paternity action to confirm the truth of the child’s parentage. For example, if the father is not on the child’s birth certificate and wants to seek custody or pursue his visitation rights, he must first become legally established as the father. This may require DNA testing. If the genetic testing results confirm that the alleged (or putative) father is the biological father, he can pursue his parental rights, such as visitation or custody.
Similarly, if DNA testing shows that the putative father is not the biological father of the child, he can file a petition to get his name removed from the birth certificate and stop any child support obligations. This legal procedure can be complex, so it’s important to hire a skilled paternity lawyer for help. Call our North Carolina law office for answers to any questions you have about requesting DNA testing, signing an Affidavit of Parentage, or taking other steps to establish your legal relationship with your child.
What’s the Difference Between Paternity and Legitimation in North Carolina?
As you consider how to confirm the identity of a child’s father, you might notice discussions regarding the legitimation process. While this is related to paternity actions, there are some differences between the two legal processes.
Namely, a paternity action can establish who the biological father is, allowing the mother to collect child support from him once the paternity case is over. By contrast, the purpose of legitimation proceedings is to grant the father legal parental rights on par with those of the mother, even if they were never married. This allows him to seek custody or visitation and pass down his inheritance to his child, which is not legally permitted if the child was born out of wedlock.
So, if the main objective of a paternity case is to identify the father and get child support, establishing paternity may be sufficient. However, if the father of an illegitimate child born out of wedlock wants the same rights as the mother, he must initiate legitimation proceedings to get his name on the birth certificate before seeking child custody or leaving an inheritance to the child. If you’re considering this process, contact our North Carolina firm for legal guidance.
How Can Our Lawyers Assist with Establishing and Disproving Paternity in Greensboro, NC?
Paternity issues can affect your whole family, so it’s important to resolve them as soon as possible. Whether you have a child born out of wedlock and want to add your name to their birth certificate or need convincing evidence of paternity for child support purposes, Kreider Attorneys At Law can assist you.
We’ve helped countless clients establish the legal parentage of their child, enabling them to make progress on cases involving child support, custody, visitation, and other legal issues. If you need legal advice for your case, call 336-770-2017 to speak with caring paternity lawyers.