DuPage County Paternity and Parentage Attorneys

What Does Establishing Parentage Mean?

We’ve worked with fathers who want to establish their rights through a parentage agreement. We’ve worked with mothers who need to ensure a father or alleged father is following a parentage agreement. Sometimes, two agreeable adults just want to make sure their parentage agreement is legally binding, and establishing paternity may be part of that.  Your O’Flaherty legal team creates a plan to resolve your paternity and parentage matters and fights for what is in the best interests of you and your child.

Establishing parentage is a legal term meaning, “who are the legal parents of this child?” In the majority of parentage cases, the biological mother is one half of the legal parents, with the biological father being the other. Paternity comes into play when you need to confirm who will be the father when establishing parentage.

To put it simply: Establishing parentage is the legal process to establish who a child’s legal parents are, while establishing paternity is just legal process for determining the legal father.

How Can Paternity Be Established in Illinois?

In eligible circumstances, fathers can establish paternity by completing a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage, commonly called a VAP. The document must be signed, witnessed, and filed with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

When paternity is disputed, or an acknowledgment is not appropriate, a formal proceeding may be necessary. Depending on the circumstances, paternity may be established through Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage (VAP), an administrative order through the state, or a judicial court order.

If you’re looking to establish paternity or parentage, a good first question is: What outcome are you hoping for? You don’t always need an attorney for this process, but if you know your child’s other parent disagrees with your desired outcome, you should be prepared to proceed with legal action.