Paternity is the legal term for determining the biological father of a child. If you are receiving Full Services, Child Support will help you establish paternity for free. There are many benefits for a child when paternity is established. It can:
- Help build a bond between the child, the father and the father’s extended family,
- Allow the child to be covered by the father’s health insurance,
- Give the child a sense of family,
- Provide access to family medical records,
- Allow the child to receive Social Security or veteran’s benefits on the father’s account, pension benefits, and inheritance rights.
Ways to Establish Paternity
Paternity can be established several ways:
- Genetic (DNA) testing- Child Support offers free DNA testing if you receive Full Services. The test results are used to legally determine the father. DNA testing is not available if paternity has already been established.
- Presumed paternity – If a child is born during a marriage or within 300 days after a marriage is terminated (divorce, death, annulment) the husband is presumed to be the father of the child.
- Court Adjudication – A legal action that begins with a summons and complaint. A court order establishes the father-child relationship.
- Adoption
- Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgment – A process that involves signing a form to legally establish the father-child relationship when a child is born to unmarried parents. When the form is completed and signed, the father's name will go on the child's birth certificate.
The North Dakota Acknowledgment of Paternity form can be completed when both parents are sure who the father is. Signing the form is completely voluntary. The form cannot be completed online but a sample form is available for review. Federal and state laws require unmarried parents receive a verbal description of rights, responsibilities, and legal consequences of voluntarily acknowledging paternity before signing the Acknowledgement of Paternity form.
The form is a legal document so signing it is a serious decision. Once it is completed and signed, it legally establishes the father - child relationship. This has the same effect as a father - child relationship established by a court order.
By signing the form, the parents give up:
- The right to have an attorney represent them.
- The right to have genetic testing (DNA testing) to prove that the man is or is not the biological father of the child.
- The right to have a court determine if the man is the biological father of the child.
Signing the form does not automatically give either parent primary residential responsibility (custody). If the parents cannot agree on primary residential responsibility, it must be decided by a court. Under state law, when the father's relationship to the child is legally established, the rights of both parents are the same and primary residential responsibility will be determined based on the best interests of the child. Contact Child Support for more information.