Establishment of Paternity

Many men avoid filing an action to establish paternity until their romantic relationship has ended with their child’s mother or a disagreement has arisen within the co-parenting relationship. Often, this leads to the parties having to navigate the sensitive issues of custody and parenting time while they are upset about collateral issues, which makes an amicable resolution less likely.

Choosing to file an action to establish paternity, even when you are getting along with your co-parent, will allow both of you to quickly define your respective parenting time and custody rights. This will minimize turbulence for everyone in the family if you and your co-parent ever end your romantic relationship, cease living together or have a disagreement related to child-rearing decisions.