That doesn't make sense TM. Please tell us who is going to inform a child about a case prior to paternity being established? No state requires a child to be present in court in a proceeding involving the child's paternity/custody/etc. It's quite the opposite. I truly do not understand under what mechanism you believe that a child is going to be exposed to the case before paternity is established.
Because the child is made a PARTY to the case. That's the piece you seem to want to overlook. Not many states do that, but NC does.
So, you are saying that NC requires the child to be present in the courtroom? I am not overlooking the fact that the child is a party to the case. I am not talking about the legality of the matter, I am talking about practical application. If you tell me that NC requires the child to be present in the courtroom, I will believe you, even though that is contrary to anything I have ever known. However, once again, if NC does not require the child to be in the courtroom, then I need to know how the child is going to know about the case if not informed so by their only legal parent.
NOT true. Not true at all. I am ordered from the time I am appointed -- at the start of a case to talk to the child. So try again.
WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. You don't know of what you are speaking. I have been assigned many times at the very beginning of a case (i.e. filing) as a GAL. I really wish you wouldn't post as fact when you are just guessing. How many times have you worked as a GAL or Law Guardian?
Except LD was wrong. I have been assigned on several cases at filing as a GAL.
Ok, I read that and clearly the child is not required to be present in the courtroom. Maybe a child could sense that something is going on and maybe the child couldn't. I think that would depend on the individual child and the individual parent. If the parent was sure/pretty sure that the petitioner was NOT the child's parent I think it would be very easy to keep it from the child.
According to a family law attorney, a GAL can be assigned to the child at the beginning of the case.
As the child is a party to the action, a GAL WILL be appointed to represent the child. Mom cannot do that.
Yep
The NC law requires that the child be made a party to the case when legitimation is sought. As I pointed out earlier, in general a putative father would seek both paternity and legitimation at the same time as the courts allow it and it is far more efficient to do both in one court proceeding than to do it in two separate proceedings. While that does not require the child to be in the courtroom, it would mean the child would need to be informed of what is going on. The child would have an attorney/GAL representing his/her interests in the case and that attorney would be obligated to inform his/her client of what is going on. The child here is nearly a teen and thus capable of knowing what is going on and providing input to her attorney. So it wouldn't just be up to Mom when the kid is told in this case. Your initial assertion was that the kid wouldn't be informed about the case until after paternity was established. If the kid is a party to the case the kid is going to be informed of it. The kid likely wouldn't testify in the paternity hearing but one need not testify or even be in court to know what is going on.
Exactly.
If a GAL was appointed prior to establishing paternity then yes, it would not be possible to keep it from the child. However, I would not think that most judges would put the parents to the expense of paying for a GAL before paternity was established unless there was enough anecdotal information for the DNA test to basically just be a rubber stamp.
If the law didn't require the child to be a party to the case, then you may be correct. Remember, what is different here is that the child would be a party to the case. There is no getting around involving the child if she is a party to the case. You seem to want to make that distinction disappear to conform to what you think should happen or match what you see happen in your state.