Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Paternity

The state or condition of a father; the relationship of a father.

English and U.S. COMMON LAW have recognized the importance of establishing the paternity of children. In the United States, a child born outside a legal marriage relationship will lose CHILD SUPPORT and inheritance rights if the fatherhood of the child is not legally established. The father may voluntarily acknowledge paternity in a legal document filed with a court or may agree to have his name listed as the father on the child's birth certificate. If the man disputes fatherhood, the mother or the state government may initiate a legal proceeding, known as a paternity action, to adjudicate fatherhood.

The common law also established the "marital paternity presumption," which holds that a child born during a marriage is...