When a child is born to a married couple, both spouses will be considered the child's legal parents. However, when a child is born to an unmarried mother, or when the identity of the child's father may be in doubt, it may be necessary to establish the child's legal parentage. Establishing paternity is important for the child, but it also benefits the father and mother too. For example, legal paternity may need to be established before a court determines parenting time, parental responsibilities, and child support. If you need to address issues related to your child's parentage, speaking with an experienced family law attorney can guide you through your next steps and help you establish paternity.

How Is Paternity Established?

Paternity is the legal establishment of the identity of a child’s father. Simply writing a person’s name on a birth certificate does not necessarily indicate paternity. In fact, paternity can be established in a variety of ways, including:

No matter what kind of relationship you share with your child’s mother or what your living arrangements will be after your child is born, it is important to understand a father’s rights and how to avoid jeopardizing yours. If you wish to be involved and have a say over parental matters in the future, the first step is to be aware that in Illinois, you are only considered the legal father if you are married to--or have entered into a civil union with--the mother at the time of birth. This means that your relationship with your child from the moment he or she is born will greatly revolve around where you stand legally on paper. 

Immediate Actions You Can Take to Protect Your Rights

There are some actions you can take to establish paternity in order to make sure your rights as a father are not violated. Below are some of the first steps in becoming legally recognized as the father of your child: 

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. 

Today, more and more couples are choosing to forgo marriage for a variety of reasons. Some are political, others economic, and still others simply out of lack of interest in legally validating the relationship. However, there are some areas of the law in which not being married can actually be a hardship, and the paternity of your children is among the most pressing. If you are not married to your child’s mother, it is imperative that you be aware of your rights going forward, especially if you want to be involved in your child’s life.

Establishing Paternity in Illinois

Illinois law defines paternity and the father-child relationship fairly extensively, and it is important to understand how to proceed. The Illinois Parentage Act lays out a list of methods by which a man’s paternity may be acknowledged and legally verified. Generally, paternity is established in Illinois when:

For many fathers, it can be extremely difficult to maintain an active role in the lives of their children. This is especially true for a father who has gone through a divorce or breakup with his child’s mother. In many cases, it feels like the proverbial deck is stacked against a man when it comes to child custody decisions—now known as the allocation of parental responsibilities under Illinois law. Unfortunately, many such issues are based on the persistent public perception that men are less qualified to serve as primary—or even equal—caregivers for their children.

Anecdotal Examples

Recently, a discussion on the social media site Reddit addressed the various ways that men have experienced sexism in their lives. Many responses dealt with female-dominated work environments, physical abuse at the hands of female partners, and distrust from authorities when a man has been the victim of domestic violence. However, there was a substantial number of responses that described the experiences of men when they are seen in public with children—including their own.