Essential Info

Paternity

While there is a legal presumption that the father named on the birth certificate is a child's natural father, this element alone is not sufficient to establish paternity. IT is a good idea to have a Joint Parenting Plan in place that sets forth each parent's respective rights and obligations with respect to their child. Without such a plan, the parent who has had physical custody of the child for the past six months has sole legal custody. The other parent may petition for rights of legal and/or physical custody, but it may be some time before those rights are established through legal proceedings.

If two parents co-habitat, then the Court will assume that they are sharing the support obligation for their child. However, if parents live separately, then they should have written Child Support Orders filed with the Court. If the parties cannot agree upon the issue of child support, the Court will decide the matter pursuant to an action being filed to establish support. If support is not established from the start, the custodial parent can request payment for past care and support. In a paternity matter, the court can make an order for support retroactive up to three years. Pending the establishment of paternity, the Court can order a man to pay support for a child if it finds that there is a reasonable basis to presume that the man is the child's natural father.