Understanding Paternity
Hi there, this is Jay Bills, Okmulgee Attorney with the Wirth Law Office, and I’m here to talk to you about paternity. Paternity has a couple of different meanings in the legal world. It’s a type of case within the court system that establishes paternity, child support, and visitation with a minor child.
If the child is born out of wedlock, the proper case to file in court is called a paternity action. But some things can be done when the child’s born, whether or not you’re gonna put your name on the child. If you believe the child’s yours, and you wanna acknowledge that child, there’s something called acknowledgment of paternity that’s filled out at the hospital when the child’s born, and that can be very helpful later in court in regards to establishing paternity.
Establishing Paternity
But you also gotta be very careful if you’re gonna be taking responsibility for a child that may or may not be yours. You certainly want to, and that’s a very tough conversation to have with the mother of the child. If you feel like the child may not be yours, and certainly don’t sign the acknowledgment of paternity, get a blood test for the child, and make sure the child’s yours.
But if you guys ever separate, and the mother’s withholding visitation, the proper action’s going to be filing the paternity and getting court-ordered visitation with that child. I know a lot of people just try to do things by agreement, do things by agreement, and it worked for a little while, but then something happens, and one parent or the other starts withholding visitation, and now we have an issue.
Low-Cost Consultation Available
If you have any questions, let’s talk. Jay Bills, Okmulgee attorney. Thank you very much. Contact (918) 756-9600 for a low-cost consultation.
