The Dakota County Attorney s Office and the Dakota County Child Support Enforcement Unit of the Community Services Division work together to establish paternity and obtain from noncustodial parents financial support for their children.
Paternity means legal fatherhood.
If the parents of a child are married to each other, the husband is the legal father of any child conceived or born while the parents are married. If the parents are not married to each other, it is important that paternity be legally established so that the child has a legal father. Establishing legal fatherhood gives certain rights and benefits to the father, mother, and child. In Minnesota, one way to establish paternity is through the Recognition of Parentage. A properly completed Recognition of Parentage document legally establishes the child s father.