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Paternity Testing

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MarlaR

Guest
here i am again. i have been reading alot of the messages on the board and it never occurred to me that i or the father would have to establish paternity since we are not married. if i don't establish paternity when the baby is born will it be automatically assumed he is the father if the father does not deny it? is establishment of paternity required for a judge to order child support payments since we are NOT and will never be married? thanks for all the comments, it helps alot.
 


usmcfamily

Senior Member
Establishment of paternity of some sort will be required......I say some sort because there are two ways it can happen. IF your child's father is present at the hospital prior to completion of the bc and is willing to complete and sign the affidavit of paternity he will be listed as the father on the bc. If he is not there nor is he willing to complete the affidavit there will be no father listed and when the issue comes to court he can either do the affidavit at that point or continue to contest paternity at which point DNA testing will be ordered and it will be definatively known who the father of the child is.
Yes paternity is required for the judge to order support - when you file your case he will be served with a copy and given X days to respond -- if he chooses to respond and deny paternity DNA will be used, if he responds and admits paternity no DNA will be required or if he fails to respond within X days an order may be signed "by default" as he has missed his opportunity to respond and has thereby "admitted" paternity (in the eyes of the law anyway.)
Once paternity is established an order will be issued to amend the bc and reflect the father's name on the bc.
Have you used any govt. aid during your pregnancy:? If so they will pursue the support case "for" you (actually for them and your child) in order to regain their costs from the father and to get support for the child so they are not left to pay the support through welfare programs.
Either way I urge you to get the ball rolling ASAP as the support is typically effective from the filing date - not the date of birth - so the sooner the better.
 
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MarlaR

Guest
I haven't used any govt assistance since I became pregnant, fortunately I have a family that is very supportive and have helped me out a great deal. I am only 5 months along in the pregnancy; how can I get the ball rolling on this if the baby isn't even here yet? Thank you so much for all of your information. I do know once the baby is born I will have a hard time supporting the baby with being a single parent and having to pay daycare, diapers, formula, and all of the other expenses. I work in a job with horrible hours and it will be hard enough just to find a daycare that can watch the baby during these hours. If I could make it without the dad then I would but I really feel as if I won't be able to. Also, if something ever happened to the father I would want my child to be eligible for social security benefits and anything else. An added question, is he responsible for any costs incurred during the pregnancy such as medication, doctor bills, cost of insurance? I changed jobs to the one I have now after we were engaged (for the benefit of our upcoming marriage) not knowing this would happen. The job I am in now does not pay much on health insurance and I am having to foot the bill for the pregnancy. He was to carry insurance on me once we were married so the cost of insurance in this job was not an issue at the time. Thank you so much.
 
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Esimon1

Guest
...In response to : "Is he responsible for costs incurred during the pregnancy..."
The answer is No. My husband's ex-girlfriend tried to convince him he was responsible for HER medical bills, doctor's visits, etc. during her pregnancy, but his attorney, and the courts,(this is Ohio) said No, he is not. The only thing he is responsible for (because you're not married) is the baby's expenses,(after the birth). In fact, his medical insurance would not allow her to be under coverage because they were not married. Basically, if you were allowed to be covered under your boyfriend's medical insurance, everyone in the world would have it!
 

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