Paternity And Legitimation In Mississippi
Paternity and legitimation are important steps in legally establishing fatherhood and rights as a father. Without established paternity, you may not be eligible for physical or legal custody.
It’s a good idea to establish paternity early and quickly. Acting as soon as possible to establish paternity can help you be involved in your child’s life earlier.
Jason Campbell is an experienced and dedicated Mississippi family law attorney.
Contact Campbell Law Firm today about how we may be able to help you through the paternity and legitimation process.
What Is Paternity and Legitimation?
Paternity and legitimation establish parental rights for parents who aren’t married at the time of the child’s birth. If you are unmarried, you must establish paternity to access parental rights.
Paternity is considered to be the legal state of being a father. Having paternity granted establishes fatherhood and child support obligations.
Legitimation is the step that provides fathers with parental rights. Getting legitimation is important to fathers looking to establish their legal rights as a parent when unmarried.
Parental Rights Without Legitimation
Without legitimation, a father may have no parental rights. A mother can still seek child support from the father, even if legal rights have not been granted, but the father has no other rights to the child until legitimation is initiated.
Other parental rights that are not granted until legitimation include visitation, physical custody, and legal custody, or the right to be involved in decision-making about your child’s life.
Legitimation Action
Legitimation is not an automatic process. Gaining legitimation requires a deliberate legal process where you file for legitimation action in court to establish paternity and secure parental rights.
Part of the legitimation action can include being granted paternity rights. Legitimation can be a gateway to unlocking paternity rights, including custody, parenting time, and decision-making in your child’s life.
The legitimation petition is a request to the court to establish legal paternity. As part of the legitimation petition, the court may order DNA testing to determine paternity.
After successful legitimation, a father can seek custody and visitation. Legitimation is a separate process that is extremely important in establishing your right to see your child.
Paternity and Legitimation for Mothers
Paternity and legitimation can also be important for mothers getting child support. Establishing paternity is the first step in getting a court order for a father to pay child support.
Paternity can be established until the child turns 18 years old. Mothers can file a complaint with the court to establish paternity.
Contact a Family Law Attorney
It can be difficult to go through the paternity and legitimation process, but they are very important steps in establishing parental rights for unmarried fathers.
Family law matters can be complicated and stressful. There are often a lot of emotions involved in family law legal matters that can make them even more difficult.
A family law attorney can work with you to handle the legal processes while making it less stressful for you.
Contact Campbell Law today to discuss your needs and learn more about how we may be able to help you with your family law needs.
Jason E. Campbell
Attorney
Attorney Jason E. Campbell was born and raised in Greenville, Mississippi, and serves clients in the northern and central Mississippi areas with divorce, custody, criminal, and personal injury legal services. A graduate of Delta State University and Florida Coastal School of Law, Jason is dedicated to helping his clients throughout the legal process with compassion and determination.
