Paternity
A paternity action is filed when a couple has a child together outside of a marriage or civil union. The court in a paternity action has jurisdiction to establish custody, access (commonly known as visitation) and child support. The parties go through the same court process as a married couple in order to determine custody, access and child support. If the parties cannot agree on custody or an access schedule, they may have a custody evaluation done through the court, free of charge, or they may elect to have a private custody evaluation. A guardian ad litem, who represents the best interest of the child, and/or an attorney for the minor child, may be appointed to help the parties and the court evaluate what access schedule is in the best interest of the child.
The court does not have jurisdiction to handle property division, alimony or other “divorce” related issues in a paternity action. An unmarried couple that has not had a civil union must handle such disputes in another forum.
A child born outside of a marital relationship is not automatically considered a child of the parties. DNA testing, the process of genetically determining the biological parents of a child, is an option for a party to confirm or refute with certainty one’s biological connection to a child. It is usually recommended to have DNA testing done in a paternity action; once the court establishes paternity, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to avoid legal obligations for a child that have been imposed by a court.