How unmarried fathers can establish paternity in Washington

How unmarried fathers can establish paternity in Washington

Parentage is the legal term for an adult’s biological relationship with a child. When a man wants to establish his parentage, he may use the word paternity. Some men automatically have parental rights after the birth of a child.

Men married to the mothers of their children benefit from a presumption of paternity or parentage in Washington state. They are responsible for helping to support the child and can request parental rights if they end up divorced from the child’s mother.

Unmarried fathers have the same theoretical rights, but they must first establish their parentage. Legally establishing paternity for an unmarried father usually occurs in one of two ways. What methods allow a man to establish his parental relationship with a child in Washington State?

A voluntary acknowledgment

Fathers who are not married to the mothers of their children have long had the option of filling out voluntary paperwork at the hospital to have their names added to the birth certificate. Provided that both parents readily agree that he is the father of the child, the man can theoretically have state-recognized paternity from a child’s earliest days of life.

It is also possible to execute an Acknowledgment of Parentage for as long as the child is still a minor dependent on the care of adults. However, doing so requires the support and acknowledgment of the mother. If she does not cooperate, then the father may need to go to court.

A court order

When there are disputes about parentage, unmarried fathers can request paternity testing through the courts. By undergoing genetic tests, men can conclusively establish that they have a biological relationship with their children.

Even though the mother may not want to acknowledge them, the state can order the addition of a man’s name to a child’s birth certificate if genetic testing indicates he is in fact the father. Once a man establishes paternity, he can then seek shared parental rights and responsibilities.

Both parenting time and decision-making authority are important parental rights that fathers typically can only obtain after establishing parentage in Washington State. Those who understand their rights as fathers are in a better position to establish paternity and protect their bond with their children. Ultimately, seeking to establish parentage legally is an important undertaking for unmarried fathers not yet included on the birth certificates of their children.