Legal Question in Family Law in California
establishing paternity and custody
i have 2 kids that have been in MY mothers gaurdianship for 7 years now. There is no record of me being the father since the mother (my ex) didnt put me on the birth certificate. thier mother has abandoned the kids with MY mother. since then i have cleaned up my life and now my mother wants me to have the kids in my custody. i know we must first establish paternity. we do not know where the mother is. we have not seen her for about 7 years. can we (me and MY Mom)establish paternity without the courts?? or do we have to have the courts order the paternity? the legal gaurdian is my mother and wants me to have full custody of the children.
and is the mothers blood needed to establish paternity? if her blood is needed and she is nowhere to be found. what do we do then??
please help me with this problem
thanks
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: establishing paternity and custody
File a Complaint to Establish Parental Relationship. Get the court's permission to do service by publication. Thereafter, ask for a default hearing. The court may not require DNA testing. If so, the tests can be done on you and the children alone.
Matthew Kremer
Law Offices of Matthew M. Kremer
9665 Chesapeake Drive, Suite 310
Re: establishing paternity and custody
You could file to establish paternity. The mother is a necessary party to the action; if she
cannot be found, you can serve her by publication.
While the mother's blood is usually wanted for a definitive opinion, modern HLA/DNA tests are sophisticated
enough either to exclude you if you are not the father, or to have good statistical probability results if you are,
by comparing the child's results with what you could have contributed.
Even if you are not the father, if you have lived with the children as served as a parent during your
mother's guardianship, you may be eligible to be the guardian, or to persuade a court to grant a judgment of
paternity by claiming to be a presumed father under Family Code 7611(d).
It may be in your interest to get the blood tests first, so you know whether you are the biological father, before
you plan a strategy and file in court.
Jed Somit
Jed Somit, Attorney at Law
1440 Broadway - Suite 910
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