Paternity is the term by which a father is determined to have legally enforceable rights and responsibilities to his child. Paternity may be established in one of three ways: by presumption, by an acknowledgment, or by court order. If the parties were married at the time of the child’s birth, there is a presumption that the husband is the father of any children born during the marriage. If there is an issue of paternity, the experienced lawyers in our Matrimonial & Family Law group will bring their considerable skills to the problem. On this page, we provide answers to several frequently asked questions relating to paternity.
Answer: An Acknowledgment of Paternity is a paper, usually filled out at the hospital at the time of a child's birth, where the mother and father acknowledge that the man signing the paper is the father of the child. An Acknowledgment of Paternity is similar to an Order of Filiation and will permit a hospital or Department of Health to name the man as the child's father on the birth certificate.
Answer: A paternity proceeding is commenced in Family Court and seeks a court order establishing paternity. A paternity proceeding names a child's legal father.
Answer: The following people are allowed to start a paternity case:
Answer: The man has the right to ask a court for legal custody or visitation rights to the child. He also has to pay child support if he is the noncustodial parent.
Answer: The mother's husband at the time of the child's birth is the legal father of the child unless the evidence establishes that the father of the child is a different man. The evidence will usually include court testimony by the mother, by her husband at the time of the child's birth, and by the man who is supposed to be the biological father. The court will generally order blood or DNA tests to establish the identity of the child's biological father.
Whether we represent the mother or the putative father, the lawyers in our Matrimonial & Family Law group will bring their many years of experience to develop a strategy on how a paternity issue should go forward.
If you think you may require the assistance of McCarthy Fingar's Matrimonial & Family Law group, please contact Kathleen Donelli by email (kdonelli@mccarthyfingar.com) or phone (914-385-1010) or Dolores Gebhardt by email (dgebhardt@mccarthyfingar.com) or phone (914-385-1016).
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