Getting pregnant and having a child does not always go as planned. Families come in many different forms, especially those created outside of marriage. Being married and having children do not always go hand in hand, but it often makes paternity much easier to establish. Here we will discuss Illinois parentage laws and proving paternity.
Presumed Parentage
Like many other states, Illinois has a presumed parentage law. The term presumed parent means an individual who is recognized as the parent of a child until that status is rebutted or confirmed in a judicial or administrative proceeding. The presumed parentage law makes it much easier for married couples to legally name a child as their own. This law was recently updated to apply to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.
In today’s technologically advanced society, blood and DNA testing have reached new heights and are fairly commonplace. Not only can at-home kits now give people the opportunity to learn about their heritage and health profile, the accuracy of such tests has been recognized in legal proceedings to establish certain connections for some time. One of the most typical areas in which these types of tests are used is to establish paternity between a child and a parent. The reason behind it is to formally recognize legal rights and responsibilities in the eyes of the law.
Who Are the Players?
Matters of paternity usually involve the mother of a child and an alleged father or fathers to whom she is not married. Other family members such as grandparents can also be involved in a paternity proceeding. In turn, establishing paternity then center around matters of child support, child custody (parental responsibilities) or even adoption.
When a person is in a situation in which he or she does not know the father of a child, many questions and concerns arise. Although the mother is more likely to know who the father is, she may not always know, and a father may not believe that he is or is not the father.
A simple fix to the solution is to get a paternity test. Some parents choose to do this before the child is born and others choose to wait until after the birth. Sometimes, parents just choose to believe that someone is the father even though they are not completely sure. Once a test is complete, though, many people still have questions.
In today’s technologically advanced society, blood and DNA testing have reached new heights and are fairly commonplace. Not only can at-home kits now give people the opportunity to learn about their heritage and health profile, the accuracy of such tests has been recognized in legal proceedings to establish certain connections for some time. One of the most typical areas in which these types of tests are used is to 
