DuPage County, Illinois Paternity Attorney

The term “paternity” refers to fatherhood, or the state of being the biological father of a child. When there is doubt surrounding the child’s birth father, the court may ask the putative (“alleged”) father to take part in “paternity establishment,” which is the legal process of determining the father through DNA testing to legally establish the father/child relationship.

Establishing paternity becomes important in family law cases involving divorce, custody/visitation rights and child support. It is crucial not only in assigning child support and/or custody after divorce, but also in distributing benefits to the rightful children after a father’s passing. Once legal paternity is established, a child can claim the father’s Social Security benefits, Veteran’s benefits, medical coverage, inheritance and pension. Paternity and DNA testing can also be invaluable if the child has any medical conditions that require specific knowledge of the paternal line’s medical history.

How Paternity is Initially Established
At the time of birth, a father has the option of signing a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity form at the hospital. This form establishes paternity but can be challenged in court if there is reason to believe it was signed falsely. Further, only the legal father may be listed on a birth certificate in Illinois. When there are questions of paternity and doubts as to the validity of birth documents, we can help you sort through the red tape to establish paternity.

At the Law Offices of Gina G. Pattermann. P.C. we work with families from all over DuPage, Will and Cook Counties. Most often, our clients seek paternity establishment if the court has ordered it or if one of the parties is challenging a ruling for child custody or support. In either case, we will exhaust all of our resources to provide you with complete, affordable legal representation in a paternity establishment case. Contact us to set up a free consultation today. We can also be reached by phone at (630) 493-1100.