information for practice

When a child is born to a married couple, the husband is presumed to be the child's legal father and paternity does not need to be established. However, non-marital children must have their legal paternity established in order to give the child the right to such benefits as child support payments, social security payments and insurance benefits, inheritances, and the father's medical history. Paternity also is a prerequisite for establishing a father's legal right to have access to the child in order to develop emotional and social ties with the child, and to have a role in decisions about the child's life such as religious affiliation or place of residence. In the past, paternity was primarily established by courts when the mother or the child support enforcement agency filed a paternity suit in order to pursue child support. A judge or jury established paternity based on testimony, physical appearances, or blood type. Contested cases were common and paternity trials were seen as cumbersome, expensive and uncertain in their results. With the development of more sophisticated technology, courts have come to rely on DNA testing, especially in contested cases, because testing can determine genetic parentage with more than 99 percent accuracy. If paternity is contested in a case in the Title IV-D Child Support Enforcement Program, the child support enforcement agency must pay for genetic testing if either party requests it, although they may recoup testing costs from the father if paternity is established. An enhanced federal financial participation rate of 90 percent is available for the state costs for genetic testing in Title IV-D cases.