What does paternity encompass?

Paternity typically surrounds the legal relationship between a child and their biological father. It is something one should address if they are having a child with someone they are not married to.

Establishing paternity is about protecting your rights and securing your child’s future.

Whether you are seeking custody, establishing parentage, or requesting support, Seattle Divorce Services is here to help you navigate the process with clarity and confidence.

When & why does establishing paternity matter?

For unmarried couples, it is a necessary legal process that protects the legal rights of both the child and the parents.

Paternity is not automatically established at birth unless the parents are legally married. Therefore, in Washington State, the process is especially crucial for unmarried parents. Whether you are a mother seeking child support or a father wanting parenting time, understanding the steps involved can help ensure your rights are protected. Family law attorneys can provide valuable guidance through this process.

What Establishing Paternity Means for You and Your Child

Established paternity means that:

  • The father has a right (in most circumstances) to have a regular relationship with the child.
  • The mother/co-parent has someone else she can look to for help with parenting the child.
  • The child can grow up knowing who both of his or her parents are and develop bonds with both.
  • The child can benefit from the financial support of both parents.
  • The child may benefit from having family history and medical history from both sides of the family.
  • The child may have relationships with extended family members.
  • The child may have an ability to inherit from both parents.

Most paternity issues are covered by the Uniform Parentage Act, which was rewritten for 2019 to better address issues around assisted reproduction and surrogacy agreements.

Can paternity be established before the child is born?

In Washington State, paternity is only established after a child is born. Some aspects of paternity law depend on where the child was born (does Washington have jurisdiction?) and when the child was born (was the child born within 300 days of the end of the marriage?). “Child” as used in our paternity laws refers to a child who has been born. 

Acknowledgment of Parentage (AOP)

The key to the parentage process: A voluntary form that both parents can sign to recognize the father as the child’s parent legally.

Once completed and filed with the Washington State Department of Health, this form has the same legal effect as a court order, granting the father legal rights and responsibilities.

It does not automatically address parenting plans, custody, or parental visitation. These issues may still need to be resolved through court. Our attorneys can help draft agreements and file necessary motions to ensure the father’s rights are protected.

Your Timeline for Establishing Paternity

Signing the AOP and establishing paternity happens on a different timeline depending on the parents' needs and situations.

AT the Time of Birth

The Easy Way

For unmarried parents, the simplest way to establish paternity is by signing an Acknowledgment of Parentage (AOP) at the hospital when the child is born. If either parent is uncertain or unwilling to sign the AOP at the hospital, paternity remains unestablished. In that case, further legal steps will be required.

AFTER the Birth

The Delayed Way

If the AOP is not completed at the hospital, unmarried parents can still sign the form at a later date and any time before the child turns 18. However, once signed and filed, either parent has only 60 days to rescind it. After that, it becomes legally binding and can only be challenged in court based on fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact.

COURT-ORDERED PATERNITY TESTING

The Uncertain Way

A court-ordered paternity test may be required when paternity is disputed or uncertain. Either parent, or even the State (through the Division of Child Support) can initiate this process by filing a Petition to Establish Parentage in court. This often involves DNA testing of the child and the alleged father to determine a biological relationship.

Once paternity is confirmed through testing, the court can issue a Parentage Order that grants the father legal rights and responsibilities, such as custody, visitation, and child support. Family law attorneys play a key role in representing parents through this legal process, especially when disputes arise.

How do I start the process of determining paternity?

If you want to ask the court the court to determine the parentage of a child...

You start by filing a Petition to Decide Parentage (you attorney will help you with this). In the petition, or in a response to the petition, you should name any other potential parents you are aware of so that all can be notified of the proceeding, and the court can make a determination between all candidates. When appropriate, DNA tests may be required by the court.

In any of these situations, or others as well, you should talk to a Seattle paternity attorney for more information:

  • you’re a mother who needs to have the father legally determined to be the father
  • you’re a father who wants to establish your parenting rights,
  • you’re a possible father who wants to determine whether or not you are the father of a child.

Paternity & Parental Rights FAQ

Will an attorney help me if I do not think I am the actual father?

If you are a Presumed Father, but wish to have it determined that you are in fact NOT the father of the child, you should talk to our Seattle paternity lawyers right away. Maybe you even signed an Acknowledgment of Parentage but have realized later that you were wrong. This is called Disestablishing Paternity. You need to make sure, other than in very limited circumstances, that you file the court action within four (4) years of the birth of the child. After the four years has passed without any action on your part, you may be held to be the legal father of the child even if you are not the biological father.

Be aware that this is not just about determining the facts of parentage. The court may also consider whether changing legal parentage is in the child’s best interests.

What is the effect of an adoption in Washington?

Generally, an adoption disestablishes one or both parents as legal parents and establishes a new set of adoptive parents as the legal parents in their stead. A full adoption is where a couple adopts a child that is without parents or whose parents are not able to continue to care for the child. A stepparent adoption is a form of adoption where one parent remains as a parent, but that parent’s spouse adopts the child and steps into the place of the biological parent.

In an adoption, both the rights and responsibilities of legal parent shift to the new parents and are removed from the former parents. However, sometimes there may be an open adoption contract that still give the former parents rights to maintain some relationship with the child.

I helped raise a child -- what parental rights do I have?

If you have a history of parenting a child even though you are not the child’s biological parent, you may be able to have the court establish you as a De Facto Parent, another type of Adjudicated Parent. A De Facto Parent is a person who is not a biological parent but who has assumed a parenting role for the child such that they should be treated as a parent. RCW 26.26A.440 (4) set out the factors for the court to weigh when deciding whether to name a person as a De Facto Parent:

  • The individual resided with the child as a regular member of the child’s household for a significant period;
  • The individual engaged in consistent caretaking of the child;
  • The individual undertook full and permanent responsibilities of a parent of the child without expectation of financial compensation;
  • The individual held out the child as the individual’s child;
  • The individual established a bonded and dependent relationship with the child which is parental in nature;
  • Another parent of the child fostered or supported the bonded and dependent relationship required under (e) of this subsection; and
  • Continuing the relationship between the individual and the child is in the best interest of the child.

If you think you might qualify as a de facto parent, be sure to talk to a Seattle paternity lawyer. De facto parentage is often very useful in gay or lesbian marriages to determine that a partner should named as a legal parent of the child even when they could not have been a biological parent. This can be very important if the couple breaks up and the partner wants to have continuing parenting rights to reflect the established relationship with the child.

It is worth noting that in appropriate circumstances the court can find more than two people to be legal parents of a child. For instance, a child could have one biological father, one biological mother, and a second de facto mother.

I should point out that just having helped raise the child does not in itself give you any rights. To have any rights, you need to have a court establish you as a De Facto Parent before you can be granted specific rights to parent that child going forward. You should also be aware that with rights may also come responsibilities, such as helping to support the child.

When is court action needed vs. when it is not?

If a person is a Presumed Father or an Acknowledged Father, then no further action should be needed to determine that they are a parent, unless there is a claim being made that someone else should be named as the child’s father.

However, for a couple who is not living together, court action is still needed to establish custody and child support obligations. Do not assume that no court action is needed in your case until you have talked with a Seattle paternity lawyer in King County.

Let our experienced Seattle team guide you through every step.

Navigating paternity laws alone can be overwhelming, but you don’t have to do it alone. Meet with one of our family law attorneys for assistance.

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