Paternity is the term used in Minnesota statutes to refer to a child’s “legal father”. While every child has a biological father, not every child has a legal father. A child’s biological father is the man who got the child’s mother pregnant. A legal father is the man who the law recognizes as the father of the child. The legal father does not have to be the child’s legal father
When a married couple has a child, the husband is automatically recognized as the child’s legal father. However, if the child’s biological mother and biological father are not married to each other when the child is born, the biological father is not recognized as the child’s legal father until he takes legal steps to establish his paternity. Until his paternity is established, the biological father has no legal rights to the child or responsibilities to provide financially for the child even if his name is on the child’s birth certificate. A birth certificate, by itself, is not enough to establish who is the child’s legal father.
A child’s legal father has an obligation to financially support the child and has the right to ask a for a court order establishing custody and parenting time. A child can also claim things like Social Security benefits, tribal registration benefits, health care coverage, veterans benefits and inheritance rights through their legal father.
Establishing paternity Continue Reading