Paternity Attorneys in Indianapolis

What This Page Covers

• Establishing legal paternity in Indiana when a child’s parents are not married.
• Ways to establish paternity, including a paternity affidavit or a court order.
• How genetic testing may be used when paternity is disputed.
• Parental rights and responsibilities that can follow, including parenting time, decision-making, and child support.
• General filing deadlines and exceptions that may affect a paternity case.

Why This Matters

• Legal paternity can give a father a recognized role in important decisions about a child’s care, education, health, and upbringing.
• Establishing paternity can also create legal duties, including financial support and providing for a child’s basic needs.
• For mothers, establishing paternity may be necessary before seeking child support from a father.
• Paternity can affect custody, parenting time, access to records, and adoption-related decisions.
• Indiana paternity rules include deadlines and procedures, so your next step may depend on your specific facts.

Key Actions You Can Take

• Determine whether paternity has already been legally established through marriage, an affidavit, or a court order.
• If both parents agree, review whether a paternity affidavit is appropriate and understand the legal effect before signing.
• If paternity is disputed, consider whether a court action and genetic testing may be needed.
• Gather relevant records, including any signed acknowledgments, support history, court papers, and information about the child’s birth.
• If you are unsure about your rights, responsibilities, or filing deadlines, schedule a consultation with Zentz Law for guidance based on your situation.

As a father, you have the right to be a part of your child’s life. However, it’s not uncommon after a child is born for the mother to try to keep the father from having an active role in the child’s life. Unfortunately, without proof that you are the biological father, the mother could successfully keep you from seeing your child. This is why establishing paternity is so important.

There are also many other reasons why someone might want to establish paternity, such as mothers needing to do so for child support purposes. At Zentz Law, we have experience with various kinds of paternity cases. If you need assistance, our Indianapolis paternity attorneys can help. Contact us today for a consultation – 317-220-6056.

What is Paternity?

Paternity is the legal term used when establishing the legal father of a child. Under Indiana law, when a couple is married, the husband is presumed to be the father. However, when a couple is not married, the man must take certain steps to confirm that he is the legal father.

Reasons Why You May Want to Establish Paternity

Establishing paternity can be important for many reasons. Unless paternity rights are established, Indiana will award sole custody of a child to the mother (with a few exceptions). If you are the child’s father, you may want to establish paternity to:

• Gain custody of the child
• Gain visitation rights
• To establish a relationship with your child
• To be involved in how the child is raised/disciplined
• To be involved in medical or healthcare decisions for the child
• To have a say in where the child lives and where they go to school
• To have access to the child’s private records
• To have a say in the child’s religious affiliations

Establishing paternity can also be a matter of child support. For example, if the mother needs the father to pay child support, she will need to first establish who the father is.

Paternity matters also come up in adoption cases. For example, if the mother wants to give the child up for adoption, the father may need to establish paternity if he wants to have a say in the situation or if he doesn’t want the child to be adopted and wants custody himself. Some men may even choose to hire a paternity attorney to prove that they are not the child’s biological father.

Indiana Paternity Laws

Paternity in Indiana gives the legal father of a child born out of wedlock certain parental rights. These include both the rights a father has concerning things like determining how the child is raised and where they go to school as well as placing certain legal responsibilities on the father, such as providing support, care, and shelter.

Under new Indiana paternity laws, there are two ways of establishing paternity when the child is born out of wedlock:

Paternity Affidavit

The paternity affidavit is a legal document declaring that a man is the father of a child. It can be completed at the hospital within 72 hours of the child’s birth or at the local health department any time before the child is emancipated.

When paternity is not contested, the affidavit is often signed by both parents when the child is born. Once submitted to the Indiana State Department of Health, the man will then be officially listed as the father on the child’s birth certificate.

Once the affidavit is submitted, the mother does not have the right to rescind paternity. However, the father listed on the document has the right to withdraw or rescind his acknowledgement of paternity only within 60 days of the date the affidavit is completed (signed by both parties). After 60 days, the affidavit can only be withdrawn with proof of duress, fraud, or mistake of fact. The affidavit will also require the parents to select options concerning the legal custody of the child. If the parents wish to share joint legal custody, the parents must submit the results of a genetic test within 60 days of the child’s birth, otherwise the agreement to share joint legal custody will be void.

If paternity is contested, the court may require DNA testing to confirm paternity. A court-approved lab will swab the child and the father and the results will be submitted as evidence. If the DNA confirms the man is the father, he will receive paternal rights, including obligations of care as dictated by Indiana child support laws.

Court Order

If either party refuses to sign the affidavit, a court order may be requested. For example, the mother may file an action to determine paternity if the father does not agree. If this is the case, the action must be filed within the father’s lifetime or within five months after his death.

If the father wishes to establish paternity but the mother disagrees, he may also file an action in court. It is also possible for a child to file an action to determine who their biological father is.

If the mother is applying for child support from the father but the father disagrees, the local prosecutor’s office may file the paternity action. In this case, the purpose of determining paternity is to get the father to pay child support.

Once a paternity action has been filed, the court will set a date for a hearing and will notify the appropriate parties that they are required to appear on that date. At the hearing, if the mother and father do not agree, either of them may request genetic testing, or the court may order genetic testing after hearing evidence.

If the court determines the man to be the father, it will issue a decree which confers parental rights according to Indiana law.

How Long Do You Have to Establish Paternity?

Indiana legislation states that a person seeking paternity must file an action within two years of the birth of the child. However, there are exceptions which include the following:

• The alleged father has already provided support for the child, either voluntarily or through an agreement with the child’s mother.
• The mother and the father agree to file jointly and can then waive the timing limitation.
• The mother filed after the alleged father already acknowledged in writing that he is the biological father.
• The person who filed the action was legally incompetent when the child was born.
• The mother or the alleged father could not be served with a summons within the two-year period.

If any of the above exceptions are true, the petition to establish paternity must then be filed within two years from when the relevant condition no longer exists.

What Legal Rights Does Establishing Paternity Give a Father?

Once paternity is established a father will have the right to the following where the child is concerned:

• Access to information regarding education and schooling
• Access to information regarding medical care
• Information about where the child resides
• Communication with the child
• Decisions regarding discipline
• Parenting time

The father will also have certain responsibilities and obligations as a parent, which include:

• Proving basic necessities such as clothing, food, and shelter
• Providing financial support

Zentz Law – Paternity Attorneys in Indianapolis

As Indiana family law attorneys, our goal is to help you and your family reach the best possible outcome with the child’s best interests in mind. We have years of experience handling various family law cases, including those involving matters of paternity. If you want to establish paternity, contact us as soon as possible at 317-220-6056. We are here and ready to help.

Common Questions and Answers for Paternity Attorneys in Indianapolis

Does being listed on an Indiana birth certificate by itself establish legal paternity?

For unmarried parents, Indiana recognizes a paternity affidavit or a court order as the legal method for establishing paternity. A father’s name is generally added to the birth record after paternity is established through one of those processes. The birth certificate reflects that legal determination; it is not a separate third method of establishing paternity.

Can I request a DNA test before signing a paternity affidavit in Indiana?

Yes. Signing a paternity affidavit is voluntary, and you can seek genetic testing before you sign if you are uncertain about biological paternity. Taking that step before signing can be important because the affidavit creates legal rights and responsibilities and may be difficult to undo later.

Are at-home DNA paternity tests accepted by Indiana courts?

Generally, no. For legal purposes, Indiana requires genetic testing that follows proper chain-of-custody procedures and is performed by an accredited laboratory. A home paternity test may give you personal information, but it is not considered legally admissible proof of paternity.

Does establishing paternity automatically give a father equal custody in Indiana?

No. Establishing paternity gives a legal father parental rights and responsibilities, but it does not automatically create a 50/50 custody or parenting-time arrangement. Custody and parenting time may depend on a valid agreement, the terms selected in a paternity affidavit, or a court order based on the child’s best interests.

What benefits can establishing paternity provide to a child besides child support?

Legal paternity can help a child qualify for important benefits tied to the father, including Social Security dependent or survivor benefits, inheritance rights, veterans benefits, and life or health insurance benefits. It can also give the child a legally recognized relationship with both parents.

Can establishing paternity affect a child’s last name in Indiana?

Yes. Indiana’s paternity affidavit process can allow the parents to give the child an agreed-upon surname when paternity is established. If a different name change is requested later, additional legal steps, including a court order in some situations, may be required.

Do parents need a DNA test if they both agree on who the father is?

Not always. Parents may establish paternity by properly completing a paternity affidavit, and parties in a court case may also agree to paternity without genetic testing. DNA testing is most useful when paternity is uncertain or disputed.

What happens if more than one man may be the biological father?

When biological paternity is uncertain, genetic testing can help identify the father and exclude men who are not the biological parent. If a paternity case is filed, either parent or the county child support office may request testing, and the court may wait for the results before deciding paternity.

Is a former husband presumed to be the father if a child is born soon after divorce in Indiana?

Indiana generally presumes a man is the legal father if he was married to the mother when the child was born or if the child was born within 300 days after the marriage ended. If that presumption is disputed, a court may use genetic testing and other evidence to determine paternity.

***Please note: This page is not intended to give specific legal advice but is meant for information purposes only. Contact us to discuss your case***