ESTABLISHMENT OF PATERNITY

Paternity refers to the legally enshrined rights and obligations of the father in relation to the child. According to the law, paternity is established in three ways:

• If a child is born in marriage, the fact of paternity is automatically established, but can be challenged;
• In the case of establishing paternity using special procedures;
• In case of establishment of paternity by the court.

Establishment of paternity is reduced to the legal identification of the father of the child, whose parents were not married at the time of his birth. If you are one of these parents (or intend to become one), see the information below about parenthood.

Who needs a paternity establishment procedure?

1. biological parents who are not married;
2. parents who married after the birth of a child;
3. minor parents (the consent of their own parents is not required);
4. Immigrant parents, including non-citizens and undocumented persons, even if one or both parents do not have a valid Social Security number.

Such parents will not be asked questions about their immigration status, and information obtained in the course of establishing paternity and / or ordering child support will not be transferred to USCIS.

To establish paternity, the alleged father must file a paternity petition with the court. If the mother of the child is married, then her husband is a direct participant in the trial.

During the trial, the fact of paternity can be established with the consent of the child’s mother. However, if there is no consent, then the alleged father may request a blood and DNA test. When conducting analyzes, it can be established that the legal father is not biological. If the fact of paternity was established in the course of the court proceedings, then it is practically impossible to cancel the court decision.

If the mother of the child refused to give consent to the acknowledgment of paternity, the court may decide to conduct DNA tests and blood tests. However, if, after receiving positive test results, the mother still refuses to give consent, the court will order a trial.

Our attorneys have many years of experience in the resolution of paternity disputes. Our highly qualified lawyers will represent your interests both in voluntary settlement of disputes and in representing interests in family matters in court.

To establish paternity, we provide the following services:

• legal advice, preparation of claims, counterclaims and other documents;
• representation in court, bailiff service, debt collection agencies and expert organizations;
• drawing up and filing a statement of claim;
• participation in the pre-trial preparation of the case;
• collection of the necessary documents;
• representation of interests in court hearings;
• obtaining a court decision;
• appeal against a court decision (if necessary);
• preparation of documents for forensic medical examination;
• representation of interests during forensic medical examination;
• collection of written and material evidence.