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Why do I have to establish paternity when I have
lived with the child all of his/her life?
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Establishing paternity provides your children
with the basic legal right to financial support
from the father. It establishes your
child’s right to potential future benefits,
such as social security, pension, veteran’s
benefits and inheritance. It also enables your
child to obtain accurate medical history of both
parents, if ever needed.
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His name is on the birth certificate, isn’t
that enough?
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The birth certificate is not a legal document.
Therefore, it is only an acknowledgment. If a
parent was to die, the birth certificate does not
guarantee that benefits will be awarded. The
court order we establish does meet the needs of
the social security office and other legal
claims.
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We live together, how do we establish paternity?
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If the child is unborn, or if the non-custodial
parent and custodial party are now married, but
were not married at the time of conception, and
the child is born, the non-custodial parent and
custodial party can come into the office to sign
a Stipulation to Paternity. If the non-custodial
parent and custodial party are not married, and
the child is born, the non-custodial parent and
custodial party can come in and sign a Pop Dec
(Declaration of Paternity).
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If I do not live with the father, how can I
establish him as the father of my child?
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Our office would serve a Summons and Complaint on
the alleged father. If he agrees he is the father
we can stipulate to paternity, which means that
he can come in and sign an order that he is the
father of the child. We can also establish an
order for child support and medical support. If
the father does not agree, he has the legal right
to oppose the lawsuit and various legal
procedures can be taken.
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How do I set up genetic testing (blood tests)?
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Our office will set up the genetic tests if there
is a case in our office and there is an order for
genetic testing. When the order is obtained or
the alleged father signs a stipulation, all
parties are notified of the testing site, date
and time to appear.
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What if one of the parties does not show for
their genetic test?
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As they are court ordered to appear for testing
as instructed, they would be disobeying a court
order. Any party not obeying could have to answer
to the court. If you are the custodial party, and
receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF), you will be non-cooped with the Community
Services Agency (CSA) and your grant will be
affected.
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What if I do not have the same blood type as the
child?
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Paternity is not determined by blood type. The
genetic tests conducted for our county are based
on DNA, which give a probability of paternity or
exclusion.
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