1. Establishing or Disputing Paternity
There are many reasons why somebody may need certainty about the parentage of a child.
A mother may need to establish parentage before progressing a child support matter. A man may believe he is a child’s biological father but not be formally recognised as a parent. Alternatively, someone may have been identified as a father and genuinely believe that information is incorrect.
Whatever has brought the issue to the surface, it is worth dealing with it properly.
Australian family law contains a number of circumstances in which parentage may be presumed. Depending on the circumstances, this can include situations involving marriage, cohabitation, registration on a child’s birth record, previous court findings or formal acknowledgements of paternity.
A presumption does not necessarily mean that the matter can never be challenged. In appropriate circumstances, evidence may be presented to dispute the presumed parentage.
Quill Legal can review the history of your matter and explain whether a legal presumption may apply, what evidence is relevant and what steps can be taken if parentage remains uncertain.
If you are seeking to establish that you are a child’s father, we can also advise you about the appropriate legal process and how the parentage question may interact with any parenting proceedings.
Being named as a father, or not being named, doesn’t automatically settle every family law issue on its own.
Let us look at your circumstances first and explain where you actually stand.
2. Parentage Testing and DNA Test Orders
DNA testing is often what people first think about when paternity is disputed.
In many cases, testing can provide the factual clarity everyone needs. However, there is an important difference between arranging a test simply for your own information and obtaining evidence that may need to be relied upon in legal proceedings.
If the parentage of a child becomes an issue in family law proceedings, the Court has the power to make a parentage testing order.
Depending on the circumstances, an order may require testing involving the child, the child’s mother or another person whose sample may assist in determining parentage.
The Court can also make associated orders to help the testing take place properly, including orders relating to bodily samples and relevant medical or family information.
Testing intended for court proceedings must also comply with the required procedures. For that reason, relying on an informal or home DNA test without first obtaining advice can sometimes create more questions than answers.
Quill Legal can help you understand:
- Whether parentage testing is appropriate in your circumstances
- Whether testing can be arranged by agreement
- When an application for a parentage testing order may be necessary
- What documentation may be required
- How the testing process relates to existing family law proceedings
- What happens once the results become available
If an adult does not comply with a parentage testing order, the Court does not simply physically force the procedure to occur. However, the Court may draw appropriate inferences from that person’s failure to comply.
That’s another reason to get advice before refusing or ignoring a testing request.
If you have received court documents concerning parentage testing, or another party is asking you to undertake a DNA test, speak to us before deciding what to do.
3. Parentage Declarations and Legal Recognition
Sometimes a DNA test answers the biological question, but the matter still needs a legal answer.
Where parentage is in issue in proceedings, the Court can make a declaration of parentage after considering the relevant evidence.
A declaration can provide formal legal certainty about whether a person is a parent of a child.
This may be particularly important where parentage affects another matter, such as child support or parenting proceedings.
Quill Legal can assist with applications seeking a declaration of parentage and with responding to an application brought by another person.
We can also advise you where the issue involves information recorded on a child’s birth certificate or where the legal position does not appear to match the family’s current records.
Family structures aren’t always straightforward.
In particular, matters involving assisted conception or surrogacy can involve specific legal rules about who is recognised as a parent. Biological connection by itself may not provide the complete answer.
Rather than making assumptions based solely on genetics, we will look at the circumstances surrounding the child’s birth and the relevant family law provisions before advising you on the position.
The goal is to give you clarity about what the law recognises, so you can make decisions from there.
4. Paternity, Parenting Arrangements and Child Support
Parentage disputes rarely exist in isolation.
Often, the reason somebody needs the issue resolved is because another family law matter is already underway.
Paternity and Child Support
Legal parentage is relevant to child support.
Services Australia requires parentage to be established before a person can be treated as a legal parent for the purposes of a child support assessment.
There are several ways parentage may already be recognised without DNA testing. Depending on the circumstances, this may include being married to the other parent when the child was born, being recorded as a parent on the birth certificate, an applicable presumption under family law or a relevant court finding.
If parentage cannot be established through the available evidence and the issue remains disputed, further legal steps may be necessary.
If you are being asked to pay child support for a child whose parentage you genuinely dispute, do not simply ignore correspondence from Services Australia.
Likewise, if you are seeking child support but the other person denies being the child’s parent, obtaining advice early can help you understand the next step.
Quill Legal can work through the parentage issue with you and advise on any related child support proceedings.
Paternity and Parenting Matters
Establishing biological paternity does not automatically determine every parenting arrangement.
Questions about where a child lives, how much time they spend with particular people and other parenting issues are dealt with under the broader family law framework.
If paternity is disputed while parenting proceedings are underway, resolving parentage may become an important part of the case.
Quill Legal can advise you on both sides of the issue rather than treating the paternity dispute as a completely separate problem.
That means looking at what establishing parentage actually means for your situation, what further orders may be required and how best to move the matter forward without losing sight of the child involved.
Do I Need a Paternity Lawyer?
Not every question about paternity needs to become a court case.
But obtaining legal advice can be particularly useful when:
- Another person disputes that you are the child’s father
- You have been told you are the father but have genuine doubts
- You have been asked to take a DNA test
- You want DNA testing but the other person will not agree
- You have received an application for parentage testing
- You need parentage established for a child support matter
- You are paying or being asked to pay child support and dispute parentage
- You believe you are the child’s father but are not recorded as a parent
- Parentage has become an issue during parenting proceedings
- You need a declaration of parentage from the Court
- The circumstances involve assisted conception or surrogacy
- You are unsure how a DNA result may affect an existing family law matter
Getting advice does not commit you to court proceedings.
Sometimes one consultation is enough to clarify where you stand and what should happen next.
