A Simple Guide to California Paternity Law
California paternity law covers a wide range of complex matters, including establishing and disputing paternity.
Here’s what you need to know about California paternity law.
California paternity law involves the legal relationship between a father and his children, which determines the rights and obligations of both the father and the child. These rights and obligations include everything from the inheritance rights to child custody.
When a married couple has a child, the state of California will presume the mother’s husband to be the child’s father. In the event the paternity of the child is in question, either parent may ask the court to determine the paternity.
In this article, we’re taking a closer look at what California paternity law covers as well as how paternity is established.
Let’s get started.
California Paternity Law
In deciding paternity, when a child is born to a married couple, the legal presumption is that the husband is the child’s father. He is also the presumed father if the couple gets married after the mother becomes pregnant but before the birth of the child.
That is not true with unmarried couples, and when two unmarried persons have a child together, the father has to sign an “Acknowledgment of Paternity to officially be considered the father of the child. This gives him the rights, privileges, and obligations associated with such a role.
However, if the father chooses to not sign the acknowledgment or is prevented from signing the paternity document, the mother may file a suit against the father and involve the court.
A father may be willing to support a child but wants to make sure he is indeed the biological parent. He may want a judge to determine the paternity before he commits to making child support payments or becoming emotionally involved in the child’s life.
A father may also believe he has been unfairly been denied knowledge of a child he may have fathered, possibly resulting from a parting of the ways with the mother. The mother may not want the father involved in the child’s life.
These are a few of the many possible situations that could lead to a paternity suit.
How to Establish Paternity in California
Most of the time, a parent voluntarily acknowledges he is the father of the child, executing the voluntary acknowledgment right in the hospital following the child’s birth. But it can be done later. The father’s name is then put on the child’s birth certificate.
If he does not volunteer this responsibility, each state has an established legal process to determine paternity, which usually includes genetic testing. A state can order genetic testing of an alleged father even over his objections.
States honor the findings of other states in determining legal paternity. If a formal complaint is filed against an alleged father living in another state and he fails to respond to the complaint, the judge can make a default judgment that he is the father.
The court can also order child support. If the parent cannot be located, federal and state Parent Locator Services can be invoked to help find him.
Genetic Testing
In a paternity case, and on the request of either parent, the court will require all parties (the mother, child, and alleged father) to submit to genetic testing to aid the court in determining paternity. The results of genetic blood testing are usually available in a few weeks and can identify a man as the father of a child with a high degree of accuracy. If test results are positive, the alleged father can request a second set of tests. If the tests are again positive, there is a presumption that he is the father.
When paternity is established, the court will enter an order regarding the father’s paternity and the father then becomes legally obligated to pay child support according to the state’s guidelines.
There are different tests that can be performed to establish paternity including blood type and DNA. Using blood type was a popular method in vogue for many years. More recently, the field of science has developed DNA testing, which is recognized as a highly accurate form of paternal identification.
Blood tests
Blood tests can show the likelihood of paternity as well as exclude a man who is not the biological father, with an accuracy between 90 and 99 percent. This method of testing began being used in the middle of the twentieth century. It involves the identification of blood types.
Blood typing uses an ABO system where humans contain the A antigen (A blood type), the B antigen (B blood type), both A and B antigens (AB blood type), or neither antigen (O blood type). Since there are genes that code for these antigens and genes are inherited, this type of testing can be used to determine paternity.
For example, a mother with a blood type of B and a child with blood type AB would call for a father with blood type A. So, a man with blood type O would be excluded from paternity.
While these tests were fairly accurate, a better system was developed, called DNA testing which was viewed as a breakthrough in establishing paternity.
DNA tests
DNA is the genetic material present in every cell of the human body and is unique to each individual (with the exception of multiple identical births).
A child receives half of his or her DNA from the biological mother and the other half from the biological father. In DNA testing, the genetic characteristics (DNA) of the child are compared with those of the mother and whatever DNA is different must have been inherited from the father.
DNA paternity testing is considered the most accurate form of paternity testing available. If the DNA characteristics among mother, child, and alleged father match on every DNA test, the likelihood of paternity is 99.9 percent.
If the patterns do not match on two or more DNA tests, the paternity of the alleged father can be ruled out.
To conduct the test, a swab is rubbed against the inside of the subject’s cheek and this provides the DNA sample. Children can be tested at any age and even at birth on a blood sample from an umbilical cord.
The Results and California Paternity Law
There is no statute of limitations in California for establishing paternity. The court process begins with a complaint to establish paternity. During the court process and prior to entry of the court’s order, the parties may still enter into a settlement that resolves any custody or financial issues relating to the child. The alleged father, if found to be the biological father, would be legally responsible for the financial support for the child. He may offer the mother a lump sum payment in exchange for her to not pursue future additional support.
This offer may allow the mother to buy a home or make investments. But it may also be unfair or unconstitutional, and the court looks closely at lump-sum paternity settlement agreements.
After paternity is established, the child acquires many legal benefits including child support, future inheritance from the father, a share in the father’s group health insurance, future social security benefits, possible wrongful death benefits (if due to another’s negligence), and perhaps most importantly, the emotional benefit of an established relationship with a known father.
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