WHAT IS PATERNITY?
Paternity means fatherhood. Establishing paternity means a man is legally determined to be the father of a child. When paternity is established, a child may benefit:
WHY ESTABLISH PATERNITY?
Establishing paternity legally benefits a child. Once paternity is established, the father is liable, to the same extent as the father of a child born to married parents, for the education and support of the child (RSA 168-A:1 and RSA 460:29).
HOW DO YOU ESTABLISH PATERNITY WITHOUT GOING TO COURT?
Unmarried parents can voluntarily establish the paternity of a child by filing a notarized affidavit with the clerk of the city or town where the child was born (RSA 168-A:2). The affidavit is a sworn agreement about paternity. Neither parent should sign it if either has any doubts about the truth of the affidavit. The Federal Welfare Act of 1996 requires anyone signing an affidavit be given sixty days to change his or her mind and rescind the affidavit.
The affidavit of paternity has the legal effect of establishing paternity without a court order. When the affidavit is filed, the father's name is added to the child's birth certificate. Once this is done, any further modifications of the birth certificate must be done by a Court order.
A mother cannot be required by hospital personnel or anyone else to put her husband's name on the birth certificate if the husband is not the biological father of the child. The husband, however, is legally presumed to be the father if nothing further is done. Paternity in these situations can be declared by the mother, father and husband filing a three way affidavit of paternity with the clerk of the city or town where the child was born. If they cannot agree, the court must decide.
HOW DO YOU ESTABLISH PATERNITY IF THERE IS A QUESTION OR DISAGREEMENT?
If there is a question about paternity, a petition may be filed in the Superior Court or Family Division Court to determine paternity. The petition may be filed by a parent, the child or an agency which has furnished support for the child (RSA 168-A:2 and RSA 460:29). The court can order paternity testing as it sees fit or if a party to the case requests it. Testing is not 100% accurate, but can establish a probability of paternity greater than 99%.
The Office of Child Support can assist applicants for services in establishing paternity by filing petitions, funding paternity testing if the parties cannot afford it, and scheduling court-ordered testing with a laboratory with which it has a contract for testing. Custodial parents receiving public assistance or Medicaid must cooperate in proving paternity unless they are excused because of good cause. Exemptions from cooperation for good cause can include cases where there is risk of serious harm to the child or the mother due to abuse of either or both, or if a child was conceived as a result of incest or sexual assault.
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