Paternity In Delaware

Determining the father of a child means establishing legal paternity. This occurs when a child has parents that are unmarried at the time of his birth. In cases such as these the child’s father is not recognized by the law until legal paternity is established. Once paternity is established that child has the same legal rights as a child born to married parents. Those rights include:

Proof of your parental identity

Family medical history

Knowledge of biological parents

Insurance, both medical and life is applicable

Financial support including; child support, veteran’s benefits, social security, inheritance and military benefits

Parents have legal right once paternity is established including:

Child support

Custody and visitation

Legal decisions regarding child

You can easily establish legal paternity without court involvement. This can be done when both parents sign a Voluntary acknowledgment of paternity in or out of the hospital. If this does not work out legal paternity can also be established through court order.