Skilled Attorneys Assisting Clients With Paternity Matters

At Bowden Cyr, PLLC, we handle a full range of family law matters on behalf of clients in the St. Paul metro area, including cases involving questions of paternity. Establishing or challenging paternity is an important decision for parents that will affect a child in profound ways. We appreciate the seriousness of the issue, and work to provide the right balance of compassionate support and aggressive advocacy to achieve our clients’ goals.

Call our offices at 612-254-6409 for a complimentary case evaluation.

The Importance Of Establishing Paternity

While every child has a biological father, not every child has a “legal” father. When we use the word paternity, we are referring to the legal father. The legal father is financially responsible to support their child. They also may petition the court for custody and parenting time. For a child, establishing paternity has many additional benefits, including:

• Knowing both parents helps provide the child with a needed identity.
• It is important to have access to the health histories of both the mother and father for medical care and treatment of the child.
• Establishing paternity allows a child to be covered by health insurance, life insurance, veteran’s benefits and military benefits, if available.
• The child will have the right to inherit from either parent.
• The parents and child can seek public assistance where they qualify.

if a child is born to parents who are not married to one another, the child does not have a legal father until paternity has been established in the legal system. Until this process occurs, he is not financially responsible for the child, no matter what the birth certificate reads. A birth certificate on its own does not establish legal paternity.

For unmarried parents, the only way to establish paternity is through the “Recognition of Parentage” (ROP) process or by court order. If the parents agree, an unmarried mother and father can sign an ROP form and then file the form with the Minnesota Department of Health. If the man and woman disagree on who is the biological father of the child, or an unmarried parent wants to get a court order for child support, custody or parenting time, paternity must be established by court order.

At Bowden Cyr, PLLC, our family law lawyers have represented both mothers and fathers in paternity-related actions, helping clients prove or exclude paternity based on the circumstances at hand.

Seek Advice And Counsel From An Experienced St. Paul Attorney

As with all family law matters, we understand that issues surrounding paternity can be very sensitive and life-impacting for all people involved. If you live in the Woodbury area and need assistance, please call 612-254-6409 to speak with an experienced Minnesota family law attorney. We offer a free initial consultation to discuss fathers’ paternity rights and determine how we may help in your situation. You may also contact us through our online form.