What is paternity?
Paternity is the legal word for fatherhood.
Establishing the paternity of a child, or who the legal father is, is very important, especially when, for example, -
- A man wants to prove that he is, or is not, the father of a particular child
- A father applies to the Family Court so that he can have day-to-day care of, or contact with, a child
- A mother applies for the Domestic Purposes Benefit to help support her and her child
- A child claims the right to inherit property from someone the child believes is their father.
Establishing paternity
There are a number of ways the paternity of a child can be established -
- A husband is presumed to be the father of any child born to his wife while they were married or within 10 months after they were divorced (but this can be disputed in the Family Court)
- The man named as a child's father on the birth certificate is presumed to be the child's father (but again, this can be disputed in the Family Court)
- The father can state that he is the child's father by signing an acknowledgement of paternity, which has to be co-signed by the child's mother
- The Family Court can declare that a man is a child's father. It also can declare that a man is not a child's father.
Contact Family Lawyer
Antoinette Vujnovich
m: 021 210 0930
e: info@edenfamilylaw.co.nz
Available by appointment at 102 Jervois Road, Herne Bay, Auckland.