Can I Legally Establish Paternity for My Adult Child?
Paternity is the process by which a father establishes legal rights and responsibilities for a child. Paternity can be established at any age for a child including after the child has reached the age of majority.
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Significance
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Establishing paternity creates a legal relationship between the father and the child. Although an adult child may be too old for issues such as child support and visitation to be important, paternity may still be important for the child to be able to inherit from the father or be able to make legal or medical decisions for the father if he is unable to do so on his own later in life.
Benefits
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Once paternity has been established, the child may choose to take the father's last name, may apply to add his father's name to his birth certificate and will be considered an heir for purposes of inheritance when the father dies. There are also a number of emotional and social benefits to establishing paternity such as creating a bond between father and child and access to family history.
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Procedure
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In most states, paternity may be established by the mother and father signing a paternity affidavit acknowledging that the man is the father. If the mother is no longer alive or does not wish to sign the affidavit, the father may petition a court to establish paternity. If there is a question regarding whether the man is the biological father, the court may order genetic tests to confirm paternity. Either method may be commenced at any time including when the child is an adult.
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