Parentage Judgment

When a child is born and the parents are not married, either parent may file a case to establish parentage. This means that parents are asking the court to make a ruling as to who the parents are, and who is legally responsible for that child. At this time, it is also common to ask for an order on child support, custody and visitation orders.

In order to file for a parentage judgment, forms need to be completed and filed with the court and served on the adverse party. Once the correct paperwork has been filed and served, a hearing will be conducted on the matter, at which time both parties will come before the court where they can agree to the paternity, contest the paternity, or, if they remain silent on the matter, a default judgment will be ordered against that party.

Several parties may wish to seek a parentage judgment for various reasons:

• A father seeking to obtain visitation or custody
• A father seeking to disprove his financial responsibility for a child because of lack of paternity
• A mother seeking to receive a child support order
• A mother seeking to file for a restraining order needing to meet the household member requirement
• The State of California to establish paternity
• The Department of Child Support Services to receive child support from the father
• The Social Security Administration to establish paternity for the child’s inheritance

If you are a parent of a child seeking to establish paternity or have been served with paperwork regarding a parentage judgment, please contact our office today to discuss your options.

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