Sadly, the days of marriage-before-babies are long past. It seems that it is now socially acceptable to put the baby carriage before the marriage. A woman will no longer be branded with a red “A” for having a child out of wedlock. In fact, it is almost a celebrated practice. “Baby mamas” have songs written about them and appear to have almost the same perks as wives these days – without the relationship or the marriage.
What happens when the novelty wears off? And what are the legal ramifications for a child born out of wedlock?
Children being born to couples who are not married is so common that many hospitals have adopted a practice of having the father sign what is known as a “voluntary acknowledgment of paternity.” While this is very helpful and can assist the father in eventually gaining legal rights to the child, the father of the out-of-wedlock child does not have any legal rights until there is a court order establishing paternity, decision-making and parenting time.
To obtain an order of paternity, a Petition must be filed in the Family Court. The Petition may—and usually does—ask the Court to resolve additional issues, including deciding legal decision-making (custody), awarding parenting time, and setting a child support amount.
Paternity cases can become more complex when the biological father is unknown. In that case, DNA testing can be requested or ordered for the suspected father. Once paternity is established, orders can be entered for legal decision-making, parenting time and child support.
If years have gone by without any orders, the father may be liable for past child support. Generally, a mother is only entitled to go back three (3) years on a request for past child support. If the child is over the age of three and the mother has failed to request support for many years, the law treats the mother as having waived her claim to past support beyond the last three years. If establishing support is the priority, it is important for the mother to not delay bringing her paternity case.
As noted above, however, if the mother does not want the father to have legal rights to the child, she should NOT bring a paternity and child support case against the father. Once the mother sues the father to establish paternity and child support, the father will invariably sue to establish legal decision-making and parenting time with the child.
Paternity is a tricky subject. In today’s society with marriage on the decline, and more and more children being born out of wedlock, it is increasingly important to be knowledgeable about the legal rights and responsibilities of unmarried parents.
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