In California, only legal parents can request custody and visitation. Legal parents are also required to financially support their child. The law protects children and expects parents to act in their best interest.
The court considers you are a child’s legal parent if:
In California, legal parents have rights and responsibilities.
You can ask the court for custody, visitation (parenting time)
You are required to financially support your child, or you may get child support by filing a petition. depending on your financial situation and that of the other parent.
You can be listed on a California birth certificate as their parent (even retroactively)
A child can get financial benefits (like Social Security or survivor's benefits) and inherit from you.
A child born outside the United States can start the process to become a U.S. citizen (assuming that you are a U.S. citizen)
You can ask a California court to cancel (or “set aside”) a paternity decision, but there are strict deadlines and requirements. Here’s what you need to know.
Even if DNA testing shows a man is not a child’s biological father, a court can still decide he is the legal father if it is best for the child. The judge will consider factors like the child’s age, the length of the father-child relationship, and what is best for the child overall.
In California, paternity and parentage for assisted reproduction and surrogacy are determined by a child’s conception intentions rather than solely by biological ties. The state relies on formal written agreements, pre-birth court orders, and the Voluntary Declaration of Parentage process to establish legal parentage.
Here are the questions we often get about paternity in California. Click each question to see our answer.
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If you get a Petition to Determine a Parental Relationship (form FL-200) and a Summons (form FL-210), it means someone is asking the court to decide if you or another person is the legal parent of a child. This is called establishing parentage. It’s important to read the papers carefully and respond by the deadline to protect your rights.
If you receive a Summons and Complaint Regarding Parental Obligations (form FL-600), the Local Child Support Agency wants the court to order child support. The court may also decide who the legal parents are. Respond quickly to protect your rights and make sure the court has all the facts. You may want a lawyer to help you. Set up a consultation with us here. [link to consult at bottom of page].
To challenge legal paternity in California, you must file a court motion to set aside the parentage order or cancel the Voluntary Declaration of Parentage. You will almost always need to obtain court-ordered genetic testing to prove you are not the biological father.
Determining parentage means the court issues an order stating whether someone is or is not the legal parent of a child, or the parents sign a Voluntary Declaration form.
To change your child’s last name to the father’s, you generally need to legally establish paternity (if not already done) and obtain a court order. The steps are to establish paternity, get the Other Parent’s Consent, file the Petition, attend the hearing, and lastly update the Birth Certificate. It helps to have a good family law attorney to walk you through the steps. Learn more about this process here.
In California, when a married couple has a child, the court assumes the husband is the biological father, and they will automatically have legal rights concerning the child.
You have until the child turns 18, or within two years of the date on which the previously established father knew or should have known of a judgment that established the father’s parentage of the child or commencing with the date the previously established father knew or should have known of the existence of an action to adjudicate the issue of paternity, whichever is first.
Yes, but this is not usually for paternity. A child legally has more than two parents if they enter into a third-party adoption. This is often used for blended families and same sex families where the opposite-gender sperm or egg donor stays involved as a parent to the child.
California law says a man is a presumed father if he was married to the mother when the child was conceived or born. He is also presumed to be the father if he lived with the child and acted as a parent. Presumed fathers have full legal rights and responsibilities, even without a biological connection.
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