{"id":376034,"date":"2018-04-19T12:08:27","date_gmt":"2018-04-19T17:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/state\/pennsylvania-law\/pennsylvania-paternity-laws.html"},"modified":"2018-04-20T11:56:14","modified_gmt":"2018-04-20T16:56:14","slug":"pennsylvania-paternity-laws","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/state\/pennsylvania-law\/pennsylvania-paternity-laws.html","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania Paternity Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Pennsylvania Paternity Laws<\/h1>\n
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Created by FindLaw’s team<\/a> of legal writers and editors<\/i><\/p>\n\n | Last updated\n

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There are numerous reasons why someone would want to establish the paternity of a child. The individual could be the father of the child, the mother of the child, or even a child who needs to know for health issues or for legal issues such as obtaining government benefits. The legal definition of "father"<\/a> varies in every state, but generally there's a presumption that, in a marriage, the husband is the father of any children born within that marriage. This presumption can be overcome by a court based on the conclusions of experts and paternity testing results showing that the husband is not the father. For children born outside of marriage, establishing paternity can lay the groundwork for child support and visitation.<\/p>\r\n

The Significance of Establishing Paternity<\/h2>\r\n

It's important to establish paternity for legal reasons<\/a> beyond merely having the father's name on the birth certificate. Certain rights for the father and the child are triggered with a determination of paternity, including inheritance, child support<\/a>, and visitation and custody rights.<\/p>\r\n

In Pennsylvania, paternity is established in the following ways:<\/p>\r\n