Pittsburgh Paternity Lawyer
If you are a Pennsylvania father seeking to establish a legal relationship with your child, or a Pittsburgh mother who needs to establish paternity of your child in order to request appropriate child support from the child’s father, the dedicated and compassionate paternity attorneys at Bunde & Roberts, P.C., are here to help you. Paternity carries a whole host of legal rights and obligations that are significant to a child’s healthy upbringing. Our Pittsburgh paternity lawyers are experienced in establishing paternity or in confirming the lack of parentage so that parents can pursue the appropriate proceedings for child support or child custody.
Voluntary Paternity
There are a few ways to establish paternity in Pennsylvania, depending on the nature of the parental relationship and the consent of the parties involved. If a woman gives birth while married, then her spouse will automatically be presumed to be the other parent.
If a child is born out of wedlock and a person acts as if he is the father of the child and holds the child out as his, then the person may be precluded from denying that the child is his at a later date. This is called paternity by estoppel. As such, a party’s actions relating to the child after birth are very significant and can be the basis for a legal determination of paternity. If a party is concerned or has questions, contacting an attorney relating to paternity will allow the person to learn his options.
Establishing Paternity in the Courts
If paternity is contested, then a party with standing may be able to seek a determination of paternity through the courts. The interested party may be the mother, the man who seeks to be declared the father, or a putative father who either wants to confirm that he is the father or who wants to definitively establish that a child is not his own in order to avoid the attendant legal obligations.
If paternity is at issue, the court will likely enter an order for paternity testing. This testing is generally DNA testing. A mouth swab is taken from the mother, the child and the putative father. DNA testing is usually conclusive to a very high probability. If however, there is still a dispute as to paternity, a trial will be held. Issues of paternity may be resolved through a jury trial.
Help With your Pittsburgh Paternity Issue
If you are trying to establish paternity either as a putative father or as a mother seeking recognition and financial security, the dedicated paternity lawyers at Bunde & Roberts, P.C., are here to help. Our family law team has years of experience dealing with paternity matters from all sides of the issue. Call the talented and compassionate Pittsburgh family lawyers at Bunde & Roberts, P.C., today at 412-391-4330 for a consultation.
