Legal resources exist to determine paternity and handle the important implications of paternity. If NBA Pacers’ player, Paul George, is proven to be the father of a child through a paternity test, he plans to seek sole custody of the child. George has sought to move the proceedings to Florida.
Though a pre-birth paternity test was already performed, George has requested a second test now that the child is born. The mother of the child has also sought sole custody of the child because of the NBA player’s travel schedule. George has cited his ability to provide for the child as one of the reasons he should receive sole custody.
In addition, he believes he is the best parent to make decisions for the child on a day-to-day basis and that the child’s mother relies on others to help her care for the child because she is unemployed. Additionally, George has requested that if he is not named the child’s custodial parent, that the child’s mother be awarded an amount “less than Florida’s child support guidelines.”
A paternity determination has a variety of important legal implications. In addition, emotional implications can also be involved in a paternity determination. The determination of paternity involves parental rights’ decisions, visitation rights, custody issues and child support.
Paternity can easily be determined through DNA testing. A paternity action can be brought by the putative father or the mother of the child to establish paternity. The court can order a paternity test to determine paternity based on a request through a paternity action. Other methods of determining paternity can include agreement of the parents, circumstances when a man represents that he is the father of child or when a child is born to a married couple in which case the paternity of the husband is presumed. Once the biological father of the child is determined, child support and child custody determinations will be made.
Because paternity has many financial and emotional implications, determining paternity can be important in many circumstances and to the parties involved in the child’s life. The legal process offers simple options to establish paternity.
Source: IndyStar, “Pacers’ Paul George seeks sole custody of child,” June 30, 2014