No matter if you are currently married or not, there are many circumstances under which it can be necessary to determine the legal paternity of your child. If you are a single mother, for instance, establishing paternity is an important step in establishing child support arrangements. As a father, it is also important to ensure that your paternity rights are recognized and enforced under the law. That is why it is so important for you and other parents in the state of Colorado to be familiar with some of the major advantages and limitations to establishing paternity.
The Colorado Department of Human Services discusses legal paternity topics and explains that the Acknowledgment of Paternity form is one of several ways to establish paternity, and is used in many cases to assign a father’s rights. The Acknowledgment of Paternity form is generally necessary for instances where you are not married to your child’s other parent and can go a long way to safeguard a number of legal rights for you, your child, and his or her other parent. For instance, establishing paternity can give your child access to vital resources that he or she may have otherwise been denied, such as your medical insurance and survivor benefits.
While establishing paternity does play a major role in many legal proceedings, it is important to keep in mind that doing so does not automatically enforce some orders. For example, completing an Acknowledgment of Paternity form does not necessarily guarantee you child custody or visitation rights. Nor does it make your child’s father instantly liable to pay child support. Therefore, this general information cannot be used as legal counsel in your case.
Tags: Paternity, child support
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