The birth of a child is supposed to be a joyous, remarkable time in a person’s life. Unfortunately, many unmarried fathers do not get to share in this experience because their paternity is not established at the time of birth.
Establishing paternity is important for you as the father, but it’s also important for the child. Paternity can affect your visitation rights, ability to get custody of the child, whether or not you pay child support, and even any future inheritance you may want to pass down to your child. If you have a child but have not established paternity, here are three ways you can do so.
Legitimization
If you are not listed on your child’s birth certificate, one the ways to establish paternity could possibly be by legitimizing the child. The process on exactly how to do this will depend on the marital status of you and the mother at the time of conception, the time of the child’s birth, and whether another man’s name is listed on the certificate.
If the mother was legally married to another man at the time of conception and he is listed on the birth certificate, he is assumed to be the legal father. In order to remove his name and add yours, you will need an attorney to obtain a court order.
If the mother was married and the husband is not listed on the birth certificate, the three of you may be able to make changes by filling out a three-way paternity affidavit. Once it is complete, all you have to do is have the form notarized and submit it to the Arkansas Department of Health. Upon approval, you will have the same legal rights you would have had if your name was added at birth.
You can obtain any required paperwork directly from the Arkansas Department of Health or your local hospital’s medical records department.
Voluntary Acknowledgement
If the mother was not married at the time of birth and the two of you are not married to each other now, the process may be as simple as filling out an Acknowledgement of Paternity. You would then submit this along with payment to the Department of Health. Once this is submitted and approved, your name will be added to the birth certificate and you will become the legal father.
Paternity Lawsuit
Another way that you can become the legal father of a child is by filing a paternity lawsuit. While this is often done by the mother, or the state if the mother is receiving public assistance, fathers are also capable of filing these lawsuits to establish paternity.
Once you file the lawsuit, the court will order you, the mother, and the child to submit to DNA testing. If the results of those tests confirm that you are the child’s father, the court will enter an order establishing your paternity.
Do not be denied the right to be in your child’s life. Once you have established paternity of your child, you and they will benefit greatly. For example, not only will establishing give your child the ability to be covered under your benefits at work, but they will have right to inherit from your estate and will also be entitled to Social Security benefits in case you die or become disabled before they are 18 years old.
Establishing paternity is important for you and your child, but it is not always easy. Fortunately, The Madden Law Firm stands ready, willing, and able to help you get through the process. Give us a call today so we can get started on your case.
