Parentage actions are the legal avenue for addressing custody and parent time of children born to unmarried parents. In a parentage action, the court has the authority to make orders on all child-related issues, including custody, visitation, decision making, child support, healthcare expenses, childcare costs, and tax exemptions. Moreover, parentage actions provide a means for establishing the legal parentage of children and allow for genetic testing in cases of uncertain parentage.
Initiating a parentage action involves one parent filing and serving a Petition, with the other parent then given the opportunity to respond with an Answer and/or Counter Petition. The Court then schedules a case management conference to establish discovery deadlines. During the discovery process, the parties exchange financial information such as recent pay stubs and W2 forms to verify income for child support calculations. Additional discovery may be requested if relevant to the case’s issues.
Throughout the proceedings, either party may petition the court for temporary orders to establish temporary child support or custody orders by submitting a Motion for Temporary Orders. Prior to trial, you will be required to attend mediation. In instances where mediation fails, the case may proceed to trial, at which time a judge will decide any unresolved matters. Parentage cases follow the exact same process as a divorce, the major difference is only that there is no property or spousal support option.
Jess Law can help you establish ground rules for co parenting, with the goal of protecting your children from conflict and encouraging them to have safe, healthy, positive relationships with both parents.