PATERNITY - FAMILY COURT OR SUPREME COURT



Paternity is the legal process of adjudging the legal father of a child born to a man and wife who were not married at the time of the child’s birth.  Except as otherwise provided, the family court has exclusive original jurisdiction in proceedings to establish paternity. Paternity proceedings are governed by FCA Art. 5 (FCA § 511 et seq. ). Paternity petitions, if not dismissed, result in an order of filiation, which is a judicial determination of parentage. Paternity may be presumed if the parties were married at the time of the child's birth and may also be voluntarily acknowledged in writing.
 
The determination of the paternity of a child born while the parties were not married is a necessary initial step to obtain the many rights as well as many obligations that result from being a parent.  Those rights and obligations include, but are surely not limited to: financial support, custody, visitation, inheritance, claim child on tax, obligation to secure health,etc.
 
Paternity must be proven by clear and convincing evidence, which is a standard of proof which is more than preponderance and less than beyond a reasonable doubt.

In the recent past, there has been great advances in the scientific fields.  I am sure you have all watched the T.V. programs rampant on the television, with issues of DNA testing.  Either the mother or the alleged father has the right to request DNA testing.  In most cases, the test will either exclude the putative father or show a high probability that he is the biological father. DNA test results indicating a greater than 95% probability of paternity create a rebuttable presumption of paternity, which the other party, if he/she so desires, has the burden of presenting evidence to rebut this presumption.
 
Once the court determines that there has been paternity established, by clear and convincing evidence, and issues an Order of filiation, it may then Order support and other obligations and duties. A Judge is then fully empowered to determine any custody and visitation requests. 

 This is not legal advice and should not be viewed as such.  No advice is given until there has been an actual consultation with the attorney.  The statements herein are not advice and no one should act according to such until they have obtained the oral advice of an attorney with regards to these and all legal matters.