Should i establish paternity

Child Custody. Child Support. How to Calculate Child Support. Child Support Agreements. Temporary Child Support Orders. Uninsured Medical Expenses and Child Support. College Expenses and Child Support. Taxes and Child Support. Bankruptcy and Child Support. Modifying Child Custody or Support. For most parents, and especially those in good relationships, emotional and symbolic reasons appear to motivate the signing of the AOP.

In contrast, parents in strained relationships often cite legal reasons for signing the AOP, such as the ability to file for child support or access public assistance. For fathers in no relationship with the mother, absence from the birth is common and may not be the only reason for non-signing. From a policy perspective, it is also concerning that roughly half of parents were not aware of in-hospital paternity establishment prior to the birth. Many parents learn about paternity establishment for the first time in the delivery room, leaving the task of explaining the AOP to the birth registrar alone.

For some parents, a poor experience with the birth registrar may mean the difference between signing the AOP and not. Training for birth registrars should stress the importance of explaining the AOP and its implications in plain language.

In addition, increased outreach during the prenatal period—especially through prenatal checkups, birthing classes, and hospital maternity tours—could help inform parents about paternity establishment prior to arriving in the delivery room.

CFRP developed the CAS study to understand how AOP signing is associated with parental relationship quality, father involvement, and father support three years after birth. This research brief is part of a series exploring the dynamics of nonmarital parenting.

The entire series of related briefs:. In order to get a Declaration of Paternity , both parents need to voluntarily sign the form. No one can force a presumed father to sign this form, nor can they force the mother to sign it; the form has to be signed voluntarily by both parents. This is a highly personal question. Sometimes, the presumed father is married to someone else and has a family of his own, and the parties feel it would be too disruptive to his family to establish paternity.

This, however, is not up to the father. If you are a domestic violence victim, the down side of establishing paternity is that it could open you and your children up to contact with the abuser. If you fear contact would be dangerous to you and your child, then you may want to be excused from the requirement to establish paternity.