Paternity is defined as the state of being a child's father. The goal of a paternity action is to determine whether a man is or is not the natural father of a child and, if parentage is established, to determine how the child will be raised and who should help support the child.

Under Chapter 584 of the Uniform Parentage Act, a man is generally presumed to be the child's natural father if he was married to the child's natural mother at the time of birth, or if the child was born within 300 days of the termination of the marriage, or if he acknowledged his paternity of the child in writing and it was filed with the department of health (this is usually signed at the hospital shortly after the birth), or with his consent he is named the child's father on the child's birth certificate, or if he receives the minor child into his home and openly holds the child as his own.

If none of these circumstances apply and the man has not voluntarily acknowledged paternity, a paternity action can be brought by either the child, a guardian ad litem, the child's natural mother, the man alleging to be the natural father, or a child support enforcement agency may bring an action to establish paternity. If you need assistance establishing paternity, then speak to a Honolulu family lawyer at my firm. I am more than happy to discuss the details of your case so we can establish legal paternity for your child.

The majority of paternity actions involve a child that was born out of wedlock, but some occur between married individuals when someone other than the husband is believed to be the father of the child, or where a man has fathered a child outside of his marriage. With a paternity action, the court may upon request of either party require that the child, mother, or alleged father submit to genetic testing, including blood tests.

If a man is determined to be the biological father of a child, then he will be afforded all same rights and responsibilities of a married father, these include the obligation to support his child as well as the rights to custody and visitation of his child. If you are interested in learning more about Honolulu's paternity laws, I urge you to contact me at my firm, the Law Office of Steve Cedillos to schedule a free consultation where I can answer your questions and give you clear insight and direction into your paternity case.