When a married couple has a baby in Arizona, the law automatically treats the husband as the child’s legal parent. No such presumption applies to unmarried couples. For unmarried parents in Arizona, paternity must be established to unlock the legal right to what’s commonly known as forms of custody: shared parenting time and legal decision making for a child. Inheritance rights and access to benefits for dependents paid by Social Security or the Veterans’ Administration can also depend on legal paternity.
An experienced family law attorney can help one or both parents determine how to handle the question of paternity, including navigating DNA testing when the primary parent is uncooperative. Knowing how the process works, including each potential outcome, is essential to a strategic approach.
Why Paternity Has to Be Established
If a couple is not married when they have a child, paternity must be voluntarily acknowledged or determined by the state. An unmarried father cannot pursue shared parenting until paternity has been confirmed. Similarly, the custodial parent cannot seek a child support order against an unmarried parent in the absence of confirmation of paternity. The following are the legal ways that paternity is established in Arizona:
- Sign a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity. Oftentimes, unmarried parents sign this form at the hospital when their child is born. The form must be signed in front of witnesses or notarized, then filed with an appropriate state office, including the clerk’s office of the superior court. Once filed, the acknowledgment carries the same legal weight as a superior court judgment. Parents have 60 days to rescind the acknowledgment, but legal challenges are allowed for up to six months on the grounds of duress, fraud, or mistake of fact.
- Open a DCSS case. If the parents agree on the child’s paternity, either one can open a case with the Division of Child Support Services (DCSS). The department can help with a voluntary acknowledgment as well as potentially arranging paternity testing.
- File a Paternity Petition in Superior Court. The court can be asked to resolve the question of paternity if the parents disagree, or when one parent won’t cooperate. The court can order DNA testing (the threshold is 95 percent probability), hold hearings, and issue a binding paternity judgment. Note that parenting time and legal decision making, key components of what is known as custody, are determined separately from paternity.
What Changes Once Paternity Is Established
Establishing paternity is the legal gateway to:
- The father seeking parenting time and a say in legal decision making
- The child’s right to inherit if their parent dies without a will
- Establishing child support
- The child’s eligibility for military, Social Security, and other dependent benefits
Once paternity is confirmed, either parent can ask the court or DCSS to establish a child support order. Arizona calculates support using an income shares model, which combines both parents’ gross incomes, the number of overnight visits each parent has with the child, and costs like health insurance and childcare to establish a monthly obligation. The determination of paternity isn’t a support order; it simply opens the door for support to be requested and calculated using the state’s guidelines.
Protecting Your Rights in Court
Key to protecting your rights as a parent is understanding the implications of paternity. When a couple disagrees or the future of parenting time and support is cloudy, it’s worth talking to an attorney from Webster Family Law for clarity. An experienced attorney can discuss your options for the paternity process to create a solid foundation for the custody and support decisions that will follow. Call for a consultation.