Palatine Paternity Lawyer

Family Law Attorneys for DNA Testing in Rolling Meadows and Mt. Prospect

In most cases, children benefit from having an ongoing relationship with both of their parents. While a mother's relationship with her child is established when the child is born, the child's relationship with his or her father is not always so clear-cut. In some cases, it may be necessary to legally establish paternity for a child. This will ensure that both parents can be a part of their child's life, and it can also ensure that the child will be able to receive financial support and other benefits.

At A. Traub & Associates, our family law attorneys understand the legal issues involved in parentage cases. We will help you take the necessary steps to establish paternity, and we will work to ensure that your child's best interests are protected throughout the legal process.

Establishing Paternity in Illinois

Under Illinois law, a person is presumed to be a child's parent if they were married to the child's mother at the time of the child's birth, or if the child was born within 300 days after the couple's marriage ended through divorce, death, or annulment, or within 300 days of a married couple's legal separation. If the child's other parent does not meet any of these criteria, they will not be considered the child's legal parent until parentage has been legally established.

If the parents are in agreement about the child's paternity, both parents may fill out and submit a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (VAP) form, which will typically be available at a hospital. However, if either or both parents are unsure about the identity of the child's father, they may wish to confirm paternity through methods such as DNA testing. In some cases, this may be done with the assistance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which may issue an administrative paternity order once a child's parentage has been confirmed. In other cases, a parent may seek to establish paternity through the court system, and if a DNA test shows with 99.9% certainty that a man is the child's father, a judicial paternity order will be issued.

Benefits of Establishing Paternity

When legal parentage is established, both parents will have the right to have a relationship with the child. If the child lives primarily with the mother, the father may petition the court asking to share in the allocation of parental responsibility and to have reasonable parenting time with the child. Both parents will also be required to provide financial support intended to meet the child's daily needs, and child support obligations will be based on the amount of income earned by both parents.

Paternity is essential for protecting a father's rights to have a relationship with his child, and it can provide a number of other benefits, including:

• Access to both parents' medical history, which can provide helpful information to doctors if the child needs medical treatment.
• The right to receive an inheritance upon the death of either parent.
• The ability to receive health insurance or life insurance benefits from either parent.
• The right to receive Social Security benefits from a parent who is disabled or deceased.
• The right to receive veteran's benefits from a parent who has served in the armed forces.

Contact an Arlington Heights Paternity Attorney

Your child deserves to receive support from both parents, including the financial support that will meet their needs and the ongoing emotional bond that both mothers and fathers can provide. If you need to establish a legal parent-child relationship, our attorneys can help you meet your legal requirements while working to ensure that your child's best interests are protected. Contact our office today at 847-749-4182 to arrange a confidential consultation. We assist with family law cases in Mount Prospect, Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights, Long Grove, Palatine, Elk Grove Village, Rolling Meadows, Wheeling, Schaumburg, Des Plaines, Hoffman Estates, Inverness, and throughout Northwest Cook County.