These days, it is not uncommon for people in Maryland and throughout the country who have never been married to have children together. But, for married couples there is a presumption that any children born to the mother during the marriage are the husband’s children too. That obviously can’t happen when the mother isn’t married so, if the issues of child custody and support later come up, paternity will need to be established.
Why establish paternity?
There may be a perception among a lot of people that it is always the mother who is trying to establish paternity in order to get child support from the father of the child. While that is certainly the reason for many attempts to establish paternity, there are also plenty of situations in which it is the purported father of the child who wants to establish paternity in order to have a relationship with the child in question. Either way, establishing paternity is the first step to resolving any child custody or support issues in Maryland family law cases.
There are a couple of different ways to establish paternity. In Maryland, a form called the Affidavit of Parentage can be filled out by the parents of the child. This form – which is a fairly straightforward one-page form – states the information of the mother, child and father, and both parents swear that they are the biological parents of the child.
Another way to establish paternity is to go through the legal steps to get a court order. Genetic testing is a key part of this option, since a simple DNA test can usually determine with a high degree of certainty whether or not the purported father of the child is, in fact, the biological father.