The establishment of parentage gives a child born outside of marriage the same legal rights as a child born to married parents. Children with legal fathers are entitled to benefits through their fathers. Children may also benefit by knowing their families biological, cultural, and medical history. Child support offices help either parent in establishing parentage for a child who does not have a legal father. Parentage must be established before the court can establish the father s obligation to pay child support.
Every child has a biological father.
The biological father is the man who contributed half of the child s genetic makeup. The legal father may not be the biological father. The legal father is the man the law recognizes as the father of the child. When an unmarried woman has a child, an official act is needed to establish the legal father of the child. This is called the establishing of parentage.