Why Should Go to Court to Establish Paternity in Illinois?

 Posted on October 11, 2013 in Family Law

If you are not married to the mother of your child in Illinois, you have a right to establish in court that you are the legal father of your child or prove paternity. It is important to do so since the mother can stop your visits with your child anytime unless there is a court order setting court-mandated child visitation rights for you.

Also, establishing your paternity of your child lets your child know that you cared enough to take the legal steps to be recognized as his or her parent. This knowledge will stay with your child throughout the his or her life.

Give Them a Better Life

Having at least one good parent can only give that child a better chance in life to have a better life. A father can be strong role model and teacher for a child. By filing a paternity case you as the father can ask the court for joint custody or even sole custody of the child should circumstances warrant it.

At the same time, a court action for paternity also brings parental obligations, which usually include child support and contribution to medical expenses or child care expenses for a young child.

Not sure you are the father of a child that the mother claims is yours? Consider a DNA test.

DuPage County DNA Testing Lawyers

In the past blood testing was done to exclude a man as the father of a child. This results could only rule a man out as a possible father of the child.

Now DNA testing is so scientifically accurate that the testing frequently results in a probability of 99 % or better of confirming paternity. The result is that paternity itself is rarely disputed in court any longer after the DNA test results.

Our DuPage County DNA testing lawyers have extensive experience with the DNA paternity testing process, and we regularly work with reputable agencies and companies that use state-of-the-art technology to perform these tests.