When an unmarried couple has a child, either parent may bring an action to establish the parentage of the child (paternity action), and have the court set child custody and visitation as well as child support. A Petition to Establish Parental Relation must be filed in order to ascertain parental rights and obligations, even if both parents do not dispute the parentage of the child.

If the parents do not dispute the paternity of the child, then a genetic testing is not necessary. However, when the parents don’t agree regarding the parentage, the court will order a DNA test. Furthermore, if a child is born to a married couple, the husband is presumed to be the father of the child unless a genetic test proves otherwise. However, in order to dispute parentage, either spouse must file a Petition to Establish Parental Relation within two years of the child’s birth.

Before the entry of the paternity judgment, the court may establish custody, visitation and child support. The custody and visitation laws applicable to the dissolution (divorce) matters apply to the paternity cases. Similarly, the child support is calculated by the same formula designed to calculated child support in divorce cases.

If you are seeking to obtain custody and visitation of your child or if you need to establish child support or terminate support you are paying for a child you believe not to be yours, contact Law Offices of Liana Nazaryan in Glendale for a free consultation.