Legal Question in Family Law in Indiana

Re: paternity, visitation,custody

Good morning. I'm an attorney here in Indianapolis. My phone number is (317) 486-4578. E-mail address is [email protected]. I will be happy to answer your questions by e-mail or by phone or by this service.

Is your son in jail for reasons related to the pregnancy? How old is your son? If it is related to the pregnancy, then one defense in Indiana is that he had reason to believe she was older and reasonably believed so. The statutes provide for this "out."

Does he KNOW the child is his? Or does he suspect it may be someone else's?

If there is any doubt, a blood test can be performed.

If it IS his child, then he would need to establish paternity, which can be done one of several ways:

1. Via a Paternity Affidavit, which can be done by the State Department of Health within 72 hours of the birth. It must be signed by both the mother and father. The form is made available at the hospital at the same time that the birth certificate is completed.

2. Administrative Paternity. You can also establish paternity by completing the required affidavit at the local health department where the birth occurred. A legal determination of paternity will exist 60 days after the affidavit is properly completed.

3. Court-determined Paternity. This is established by filing a paternity action in court. The parties may agree to the paternity or request a blood test and hearing.

You can ask the court to give you custody of the child. That's easiest to accomplish if you can prove that your son is the more fit parent and that she cannot take care of herself, let alone a child, or that she's mentally ill or has drug/alcohol problems.

You're definitely going to need legal advice in this situation....

Re: paternity, visitation,custody

Your son can retain the services of an attorney to pursue paternity litigation or he can contact the prosecutor's office and use their services to establish paternity if the mother has not yet done so. The procedure is to file a petition to establish paternity. Once the paperwork is served a hearing is held to allow either parent to request a paternity test. If a test is requested the case will be reset for a hearing after the results are back. If you son is determined scientifically as a result of the test to be the father, then the court will conduct a hearing on child support, custody and visitation. Support and visitation are usually set according to the various guidelines adopted by the local court or adopted statewide. The paternity filing fee to the County Clerk at the time of filing is $120 and a waiver of the cost can be sought by indigent filers.