What happens once paternity is established?

After paternity is legally established, barring additional legal action on the part of the father, the mother still retains sole legal and physical custody of a child. A father who wishes to gain child custody must “ask the court for an order.” Paternity isn’t a guarantee that child custody will be granted.

How long does a father have to establish paternity Massachusetts?

Massachusetts law only allows a parent 60 days to demand a paternity (DNA) test after an acknowledgment has been executed. (If there is a custody or child support hearing less than 60 days from the acknowledgment, then a party only has until the date of the hearing to rescind the acknowledgment or demand a DNA test.)

Does signing birth certificate establish paternity in Massachusetts?

Once both parents sign this form and your signatures are notarized, the man becomes the child’s legal father and his name goes on the child’s birth certificate. No one has to go to court. You can establish paternity for your child any time in the child’s life.

How does a father establish paternity in Massachusetts?

Paternity is automatically established if the parents are married when the child is born. The husband is the child’s legal father. If the parents aren’t married when the child is born, paternity needs to be established. If you don’t establish paternity, your child doesn’t have a legal father.

Does the father have to be on the birth certificate to pay child support?

If the child’s father is not named on the birth certificate then he may not have to pay child support unless paternity is established in other ways. If the birth certificate does name the father (or paternity has been otherwise established), then Work and Income will require the father to pay child support to them.

Can a man demand a paternity test?

Legally, the courts cannot force the man to take the DNA test, but with undergoing such a test, he stands to lose nothing and it will help the case to progress. If he refuses the DNA test on financial grounds, for example, an inability to pay for the DNA testing, the CMS will pay for it.

Do Unmarried fathers have rights in Massachusetts?

Unmarried parents (except in extreme situations) have the right to maintain a relationship with their children through parenting time. While the presumption is that the mother has legal custody (decision making authority) when the child is not born of a marriage, the parties can themselves agree to joint legal custody.

How do you establish paternity?

In order to establish paternity rights, fathers have two options: to settle the matter informally or to go through the court system. However, establishing paternity does not automatically provide the father with legal rights such as custody, visitation or consent to medical treatment.

Do I have to pay child maintenance if I’m not on birth certificate?

If an unwed father is not listed on the birth certificate, he has no legal rights to the child. This includes no obligation to paying child support and no rights to visitation to custody or child support. If no father is listed on the birth certificate, the mother has sole legal rights and responsibility of the child.

What does establishing paternity mean?

Establishing paternity means determining the legal father of a child. There are 2 ways to establish paternity. You can establish paternity by signing a paternity acknowledgement form or you can ask the court to establish paternity.

Who pays for DNA tests in a paternity case in Massachusetts?

If the court accepts your affidavit, the state will pay for the tests. For more information about genetic marker tests in paternity cases, see Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 209C, section 17. In a paternity case, what else can the court do besides deciding who the father is?

How do you prove paternity in a family court case?

Go to court to decide paternity if: you need to make sure the child has a legal father; and the parents have not signed a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage form. If you are not married to each other and you have not signed a voluntary acknowledgment of parentage, then you file a Complaint to Establish Paternity.

What happens if you don’t establish paternity?

If the parents aren’t married when the child is born, paternity needs to be established. If you don’t establish paternity, your child doesn’t have a legal father. This is true even if both parents are living together with the child.