When a child is born to an unmarried couple, or when the paternity of a child is in question, it's important for all necessary steps to be conducted efficiently in order to settle the often complex issues of who is responsible for supporting the child.
A Voluntary Declaration of Paternity is ideal and provides a child the standard rights of a situation where married parents automatically become legal parents.
However, when a voluntary declaration is not present, other legal documents are necessary to resolve paternity and parental relationships to the child.
A party to a California paternity case can bring a Complaint to Establish Parental Relations to the California Superior Court.
A man who is said to be the father of a child is entitled to certain paternity testing under California state law to either prove or disprove paternity.
DNA testing and other lab testing methods will establish who the child's biological father is, but there are still other legal necessities for settling how the paternal obligations correspond to child support and custody issues, and whether other legal relationships between the mother and father might play into the situation.
Federal and state statistics bear out that paternity issues are becoming more a part of American domestic law as a new generation struggles with the responsibilities of raising children.
When biological parents of a child disagree over any part of the process for supporting a child, legal counsel often gets involved to help sort out a wide variety of issues, including fitness for custody, shared custody, and asset valuation, all of these having a bearing on setting financial child support requirements.
Counsel can also help explain court costs and the costs of filing various documents with the state in settling a paternity or "family structure" issue.
For a father, or an individual said to be the father of a child, prompt and accurate action to seek particular documents is especially necessary.
In many cases, under California law, a judge can order child support payments, called "temporary child support" that an individual will be required to provide until paternity has been established.
Though the temporary child support payments will be reimbursed upon finding of no paternity, this kind of financial situation can have a negative effect on a party until the paternity issue is resolved.
Paternity cases are generally controversial and emotionally charged.
Proper research into your paternity case and considering attaining legal counsel can help determine how paternity will affect child support, what role the fitness of custody plays in a situation, and whether the party holds any "bargaining chips" that counsel for both parties can acknowledge in reaching a settlement.