California Family Law Blog

San Jose Family Law Attorney explains how paternity is established.

Establishing paternity involves determining who is the father of a child. The law always recognizes the mother of the child as a parent. But if the mother and father were not married when the child was born, then the law only recognizes the father if paternity is legally established. Paternity gives your child the same benefits and rights as those children born to parents who are married. These include:

• Legal proof of both the father's and mother's identities.
• Family medical history information, in case of inherited health problems.
• The father's name on the birth certificate.
• Life or medical insurance from either parent (if they have insurance).
• Financial support from each parent.
  

Whether or not a child's parents are legally together at the time of birth, they can sign a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity to legally determine the identity of the child's father. If the parents are in disagreement about the identity of the father, any man who believes he may be a child's biological father is entitled, under California law, to a DNA paternity test (by blood or saliva) to legally prove his identity.

Establishing paternity will be very important for a child if his or her parents become separated, divorced, or were never married—especially if the child's father wants to ensure that he has custody and visitation rights. It also allows the child to be legally entitled to receive child support and gives a father the right to make certain legal decisions regarding his child. In California, there is no statute of limitations for establishing paternity.

A child's parents may also want to establish paternity in the event that there is a disagreement over the father's identity. A person may deny that he is the child's father, and filing a paternity lawsuit can resolve this dispute, ensure that the child's rights are taken care of, and require the child's father to meet his financial and legal obligations to the child. Should the case go to trial, a California Superior Court will hear the case.

Should you decide to go through the courts to establish paternity, you will have to file a Complaint to Establish Parental Relationship. A Judgment, reached either by agreement between both parties, by default, or after the trial, will be issued by the court.

Here at Sagaria Law, we offer a full range of family law and legal services including divorce, paternity, adoption, child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, alimony, juvenile dependency, domestic violence, division of property, grandparent visitation and custody, etc. We have seven Northern California locations including San Jose, San Francisco, Redwood City, Fremont, Salinas, Roseville and Sacramento. We offer a free thirty minute consultation, either in person at any of our offices, or over the phone. Call our offices today and we can connect you with an attorney immediately or we can schedule your free consultation with one of our family law attorneys : (408) 279-2288 or (800) 941-6730 or visit www.sagarialaw.com.

Sacramento Divorce Attorney Discusses Paternity Establishment:

Establishing paternity is the process of determining the legal father of a child. When parents are married, paternity is automatically established in most cases as the husband of the mother is automatically presumed to be the child’s father. If parents are unmarried, paternity establishment is not automatic and the process should be started by both parents as soon as possible for the benefit of the child. Unmarried parents can establish paternity (legal fatherhood) by signing a voluntary "Declaration of Paternity” form. This can be done in the hospital after the child is born. A Declaration of Paternity may also be signed by parents after they leave the hospital.

Unmarried parents who sign the Declaration of Paternity form help their child(ren) gain the same rights and privileges of a child born within a marriage. Some of those rights include: financial support from both parents, access to important family medical records, access to the non-custodial parent’s medical benefits, and the emotional benefit of knowing who both parents are.

In an effort to create a legal link between unmarried fathers and their children, the California Department of Child Support Services joined other states in a partnership with licensed hospitals and clinics with birthing facilities to establish the Paternity Opportunity Program (POP). This voluntary in-hospital paternity acknowledgement program, implemented in January 1995, involves about 330 of California’s licensed hospitals and clinics with birthing facilities. The program has since been expanded to prenatal clinics, county welfare offices, local vital records offices, and courts.

If you have a question regarding paternity establishment please contact Sagaria Law at 1-800-941-6730 for a free consultation or visit us at www.sagarialaw.com. Our team of Family Law Attorneys can assist you with all aspects of your case. We have attorneys in San Mateo, Monterey, Fremont, Salinas, Sacramento and San Jose.

Men are clearly at a disadvantage when it comes to paternity cases because without a DNA test it cannot be conclusively shown whether or not they are really the father of the child. When told that they are going to be a father the initial excitement may lead the alleged father to happily accept his role as father without considering whether or not they really are the biological father. Here at Sagaria Law, P.C., many of our San Jose Paternity Lawyer, work to establish Parental Rights for mothers and fathers.

If the alleged father has no reason to doubt paternity while the child is still an infant he my even agree to a judgment of paternity establishing him as the father. Unfortunately in many cases it is not until the child is older that the alleged father begins to suspect he is not the biological father because of a lack of family resemblance or information passed on from friends.

Continue reading "Disadvantage by Nature for Men on Paternity " »

A judge in Los Angeles is ordering Anna Nicole Smith to have her baby daughter Dannielynn Hope take a paternity test by February 21. If Smith decides not to have her daughter complete the test by the deadline, then she must fly back to L.A. to explain the reason for her delay.

The paternity lawsuit against Smith was filed by photographer Larry Birkheard in October. He says that he and Smith had a 2 ½ year affair and that he is Dannielynn Hope’s father. Smith denies that she and the photographer were romantically involved and says that Howard K. Stern, her boyfriend and attorney, is her daughter’s father. Birkhead wants Dannielynn Hope to take a paternity test. He has also filed a civil action against Smith and Stern with a Bahamian court. He claims that Stern and Smith acted fraudulently when they named Stern as the baby’s father on her birth certificate.

Yesterday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald Schnider ruled that Dannielynn Hope could take the test in Miami or the Bahamas. Schnider had stayed the previous deadline, January 23, after the former reality TV star’s attorneys had claimed that a Bahamian judge needed to sign off on the L.A. court order. Birkhead’s attorneys say that because Dannielynn was conceived in the United States and because Smith had been working and living in Los Angeles, the issue is an L.A. matter.

California Family Code, Section 7550 to 7558 can also be called the Uniform Act on Blood Tests to Determine Paternity. Here are sections 7551-7552:

7551. In a civil action or proceeding in which paternity is a relevant fact, the court may upon its own initiative or upon suggestion made by or on behalf of any person who is involved, and shall upon motion of any party to the action or proceeding made at a time so as not to delay the proceedings unduly, order the mother, child, and alleged father to submit to genetic tests. If a party refuses to submit to the tests, the court may resolve the question of paternity against that party or enforce its order if the rights of others and the interests of justice so require. A party's refusal to submit to the tests is admissible in evidence in any proceeding to determine paternity. For the purposes of this chapter, "genetic tests" means any genetic test that is generally acknowledged as reliable by accreditation bodies designated by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Continue reading "In Ongoing Paternity Dispute, Los Angeles Judge Orders Anna Nicole Smith To Return To Los Angeles Unless She Lets Her Daughter Take DNA Test " »

A man who gave his sperm to a woman when they were dating has agreed to pay limited child support. Michael Wilford and Christine Harris reached the settlement two years after she filed a lawsuit against him requesting child support for her twin daughters.

According to Harris, she and Wilford had been in a loving relationship when they had talked about having children and he agreed to donate his sperm so she could become pregnant through in-vitro fertilization. Wilford, however, claims that he and Harris were just dating at the time and that he donated his sperm to help her fulfill her dream to have children. He also says that he was duped into signing documents establishing paternity.

The Chicago businessman will help pay for the 3-year-old girls' "reasonable and necessary" living expenses, including medical bills and their anticipated college tuition.

In the state of California, if a man is established as a child’s legal parent, he must financially support the child. It is considered a crime to not pay child support in California.

Continue reading "Sperm Donor Agrees To Pay Child Support To Ex-Girlfriend" »

The date for legally determining the identity of the father of former Playboy model and Reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith’s baby has been pushed back. A judge in Los Angeles postponed the deadline for a required paternity test. The reason for the delay is that the physician who has been tasked with collecting the DNA sample does not have the necessary work permit to do so in the Bahamas. A new hearing has been set for February 7.

Smith’s daughter was born in the Bahamas last year on September 7. Her 20-year-old son, Daniel Wayne Smith, died three days later while visiting her at the hospital. Smith’s ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, later filed a paternity claim stating that he was the father of baby Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern. Smith disagrees with this claim and says that her current boyfriend and attorney Howard K. Stern is the father of Dannielynn.

A man who legally establishes that he is the father of a child has certain legal rights, along with the child’s mother, over that child, as long as the child is under 18 years of age) including:

- Where the child will live.
- Where the child will go to school.
- How to bring up the child.
- What religious faith the child will follow.
- What type of medical care the child will have.
- Their child’s lifestyle.

Continue reading "In Anna Nicole Smith Paternity Lawsuit, Judge In California Postpones Deadline For DNA Test " »

Anna Nicole Smith must provide saliva samples from herself and her baby daughter for a paternity test to determine the identity of the baby’s father.

The ruling, by L.A. Superior Court Judge Robert Schneider, is a legal victory for Smith’s ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead who claims he is the father of Dannielynn Hope. Smith has disputed this claim, saying that her lawyer and current boyfriend Howard K. Stern is the baby’s father.

Smith is currently in the Bahamas and enforcing the paternity test order could prove difficult. If she refuses to obey the court order, Birkhead could go on to file a contempt citation and Smith could be arrested whenever she returns to California. Smith recently spent time in San Francisco where she appeared in court. She has spent a number of years fighting with her former stepson over her late husband's (J. Howard Marshall’s) fortune.

Continue reading "California Judge Orders Anna Nicole Smith And Baby To Take DNA Paternity Test" »

Reality TV star and model Anna Nicole Smith and her ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead are waiting to hear from a court on whether or not a paternity test will be ordered to determine who is the father of Smith’s baby daughter.

Birkhead has wanted to take the test because he believes that he is 3-month old Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern’s father. Smith has refused to comply, insisting that her current boyfriend Howard Stern is the baby’s father. Birkhead filed a lawsuit, and the hearing last week at Los Angeles Superior Court was to make the determination about the test. Judge Robert A.Schnider is expected to make a decision next week.

Why paternity test?
· To establish an accurate medical history for the child.
· To prevent disputes in adoption.
· To create a record for immigration.
· To foster peace of mind for all involved parties.
· To obtain child support.
· To determine the birth father.
· To determine the birth mother (cases of switching babies in the hospital shortly after birth.)

Continue reading "Paternity Test?: Anna Nicole Smith And Ex-Boyfriend Wait For Court’s Decision " »

“Scary” Spice Girl Mel B (Melanie Brown) says that Eddie Murphy is definitely the father of the baby she is carrying. Brown and Murphy dated earlier this year.

Murphy, however, is quoted as saying to a reporter in regards to whether or not he was the father, “And we don’t know whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test. You shouldn’t jump to conclusions, sir.”

Murphy’s representative, however, claims that the actor never made any such a statement.

In California, when the parents of a child who is born are not married, paternity must be legally established. Both parents can establish who the father’s child is be signing a Declaration of Paternity. If necessary, paternity can be proved by taking a blood test. A man can also prove that he isn’t the father of a child by taking a blood test.

Continue reading "In Paternity Disagreement, Actor Eddie Murphy And “Scary” Spice Girl Mel B Disagree On Whether He Fathered Her Baby" »

In Los Angeles Superior Court this month, photographer Larry Birkhead filed a paternity lawsuit demanding that Anna Nicole Smith return to the United States with her one-month-old daughter Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern. He also wants the baby take a paternity test.

Birkhead claims he is the father of the baby girl and is asking for physical and legal custody. He is accusing Smith of going to the Bahamas to have the baby in order to avoid custody and visitation talks.

Smith claims that her attorney Howard K. Stern is the father of her baby and has named him on the child’s birth certificate. She and Stern were married in a non-binding commitment ceremony.

Under California law, any man who is said to be the father of a child is legally entitled to a paternity test to prove that he is the father.

Continue reading "In California, Paternity Dispute Over Who Is The Father Of Anna Nicole Smith’s Child May Go To Court " »