However, the law will define most of paternity rights based on several factors. This may include the cooperation of medicinal procedures in determining paternity identification.
Meanwhile, law defines paternity as the legal acknowledgment of parental relationship between a man and a child based on many factors. In a case where a child is born to the wife during a marriage, such child is under the husband’s care under the presumption of lawful paternity. Therefore, the husband has complete rights, duties and obligations to the child. This is defined under the common law.
This presumption however can be rebutted in a formal court. Therefore, establishing paternity and financial support or obligation can be removed based because the husband is not the real father. There are also cases of establishing paternity or claiming support and obligation, especially when a mother is unwed. This may come from the father voluntarily or involuntarily. Establishing paternity voluntarily is by being present at the birth of child or providing affidavit of owning the child. In the case of involuntary, a mother may petition the court for a determination of paternity. Usually, the father and the child undergo DNA testing. If the father does not submit to genetic testing, he can be determined as the child’s father by default. The paternity rights of a man include support responsibility and visitation.
In addition, the court allows the father to file a parenting plan with a district court if he wishes to be an important part of the child’s upbringing. Parenting plan, or also known as custody agreement, is a requirement in a divorce paperwork that lets the parent avoids future disagreements arising from lack of guidelines in dealing with obligations with regard to rearing the child. If the couple do not come up with an agreeable plan, the court may lay out its own parenting plan.
If inheritance rights are concerns, the responsibility to establish paternity and the attempt to dispute lie on the heirs of the deceased father.
Worth noting are some paternity laws that assign full parental obligations to fathers even when women lie about contraception, deceit, or statutory rape by a woman.
