Establishing Paternity: Your Rights and Responsibilities

By Ursula Furi-Perry, Esq.

According to some historians, the Puritans used one awkward method to determine paternity when the identity of the father of a child was in question: while the birth mother was in labor, an informal jury of twelve women would assemble around her and conduct an inquisition of the woman (the idea behind it that labor pains would make the woman spill the real father’s identity.)

Fortunately, paternity testing in Massachusetts has become less painful in modern years. Need to know more? Here are the basics:

If you’re a birth mother seeking to establish paternity…

For the unmarried birth mother, usually the most pressing and immediate concern is establishing paternity in order to enforce the obligation of the birth father to contribute towards the support of the child, explains Dick Consoli of Consoli & Wilshusen in North Andover and professor of Family Law at the Massachusetts School of Law. First and foremost, Consoli stresses that birth mothers should seek assistance—having an attorney behind you, he says, will help provide information regarding your rights. Consoli adds that lower-cost alternatives are available to birth mothers who can’s afford to hire a lawyer: for example, he directs a “Lawyer for the Day” program where volunteer lawyers assist clients on a pro bono basis. Birth mothers may also seek assistance from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue in obtaining support orders.

If you’re seeking to establish paternity, you need more than just a verbal acknowledgement by the putative father that he is the father—in fact, just listing the father’s name on the child’s birth certificate is not enough. Birth mothers have two options: first, both parents can sign a voluntary “paternity acknowledgment form;” second, the birth mother may file a paternity action in court and ask a judge to establish paternity. Should the putative father contest paternity, the court can order genetic marker tests to establish paternity, the results of which will serve as legal evidence for determining child support, custody, visitation, and other rights and responsibilities.

“But beyond that, what the parties need is a parenting plan,” says Consoli. He describes that parenting plan as “the rule book” that regulates the parents’ relationship, setting out their obligations and expectations ahead of time. As some examples of what should be included in the parenting plan, Consoli lists:

• Physical and legal custody of the child;

• Detailed visitation rights—down to pick-up and drop-off times and holiday and summer visitation;

• Plans to periodically review the amount of support being provided, along with plans to exchange information that’s necessary to ensure that the amount being paid is fair;

• The rights of the paternal grandparents to keep in contact with and visit the child;

• Access to the child’s medical and educational records;

• The right to be made aware of and attend educational, athletic, and other recreational events in which the child is participating;

• And health insurance coverage, among many others.

A thorough lawyer who’s well-versed in family law should assist the parents in designing a parenting plan that sets aside the parents’ own interests and focuses instead on the interests of the child, says Consoli.

If you’re a putative father seeking to either contest or establish paternity…

“Putative fathers ought to be reminded that they have the right and responsibility to parent,” says Consoli, “and also have an opportunity to be involved in the life of the child.” Once paternity is established, the birth father has the right to seek custody and visitation of the child; the court grants custody and visitation according to what it deems to be in the best interests of the child.

Note that in the case of a married woman, Massachusetts law presumes that the woman’s husband is the father of the child (with all of the rights and obligations that come with it, including paying child support.) This is a rebuttable presumption, Consoli adds—so, a husband contesting paternity or a birth father seeking to establish paternity can petition the court for genetic marker tests and make his case.

Need more information? Visit the following detailed resources:

Trial Court Law Libraries—Massachusetts Law About Paternity, http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/pat.html

Establishing Paternity, Custody, Visitation and Child Support, http://www.masslegalhelp.org/children-and-families/chapter9--paternity

Massachusetts Bar Association—Rights and Responsibilities of Unmarried Fathers, http://www.masslawhelp.com/lawhelp/legal_info/index.php?sw=3124&full_id=200

Massachusetts Department of Revenue—Child Support Enforcement, http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=doragencylanding&L=4&L0=Home&L1=Individuals+and+Families&L2=Help+%26+Resources&L3=Child+Support+Enforcement&sid=Ador