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Ohio Child Custody Part 3

January 3, 2011

This is Part 3 of a Columbus Ohio Child Custody Lawyer series on the Ohio Child Custody Process. DISCLAIMER

To view the other installments in the series click the links below:  

  • Ohio Child Custody Part 1
  • Ohio Child Custody Part 2
  • Ohio Child Custody Part 4
  • Ohio Child Custody Part 5

2.  Establishing Paternity / Ohio DNA Testing.

Q. How can an Ohio father of the Child of an unmarried mother legally establish paternity?

He may:

  1. Acknowledge paternity by affidavit (This is commonly done at the time of the child’s birth, but can be done later at the local Registrar or Child Support Enforcement Agency, or CSEA.  The Mother’s consent is required, and the Father is foregoing the option to have DNA tested before paternity is determined.  A copy of the Acknowledgment of Paternity Affidavit can be found here.
  2. Participate in DNA testing and establish paternity by administrative order through the appropriate CSEA (The Mother’s consent is required, unless the Agency initiates child support collection action on its own because the Mother received welfare or assistance.)
  3. File an action in the Court to establish parentage and to allocate parental rights and responsibilities (The Court can order paternity testing, and the Mother’s consent is not required).

For a more in depth explanation of the methods of establishing paternity, see our Father’s Rights page:

https://cornwell-law.com/answers/fathers-rights-learn-about-fathers-rights-to-visitation-in-ohio/

For additional important information about establishing paternity in Ohio please visit the web page for Ohio Paternity Enhancement by clicking here.

Q.  What if a child was born during a marriage, but the mother’s Husband is NOT the biological Father of the child?  How can the Father legally establish that he is not the child’s Father, and therefore not responsible for child support?

This can be done either by:

  1. During a divorce case, by requesting the Court order DNA testing; or
  2. During an administrative child support proceeding, by requesting the Child Support Enforcement Agency, or CSEA conduct DNA testing (note, CSEA may refuse to do this because legally, paternity is already established through the presumption that a child born to married parents is the natural Child of the Husband.  This presumption can be refuted by presentation of DNA evidence which conclusively establishes that the Husband is not the Father of the Child.  However, if the Mother and Father both agree that the Husband is not the Father, CSEA may be more likely to cooperate with the request for DNA testing).

Note: usually a hospital will not allow an Acknowledgment of Paternity to be signed when a child is born to a married man. However, hospitals are not the only entities that can distribute paternity affidavits.  Paternity affidavits can be signed and submitted by any citizen.

3.  Establishing custody rights – getting started

DO I NEED TO HIRE AN OHIO CUSTODY, VISITATION OR SHARED PARENTING ATTORNEY?

For more information to help you decide whether or not you need to hire an attorney, please see our article on this topic:

https://cornwell-law.com/07/can-i-just-get-a-packet-of-free-divorce-or-custody-forms-do-i-need-a-lawyer/

CAN THE PARTIES REACH AN AGREEMENT ON THEIR OWN?

For parties who believe they can come to an agreement among themselves, each Party may still need the help of an Attorney to make sure that the documents they present to the Courts put into place the agreement that they made, with the legal effect they intended.  If the Parties cannot agree between themselves, but are willing to try mediation to come to an agreement, this can sometimes be a solution to reaching middle ground.  For more information about mediation, see our mediation article:

https://cornwell-law.com/07/ohio-mediation/

If the parties are unable to reach an agreement, then the custody case becomes contested.

Comments

  1. C says

    July 5, 2011 at 2:52 pm

    So true. Honesty and evyehrting recognized.

  2. Anonymous says

    February 28, 2011 at 12:31 pm

    BUT DO THEY HAVE TO HAVE AN ATTORNEY IF THEY AGREE TO SHARED CUSTODY AND WERE NOT MARRIED. THIS COUPLE HAS WANTED SHARED CUSTODY SINCE THE CHILD WAS BORN BUT CHILD SUPPORT OFFICE TOLD THEM THEY HAVE TO GET AN ATTORNEY. THEY CAN’T AFFORD ONE.

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Ohio Child Support Guidelines Calculator

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Read this before you read our website

1. This site applies to the state of Ohio and matters of federal law only.

2. The info on our site is not legal advice because we don't know the facts of your case. If you want legal advice, you must meet with a lawyer.

3. Reading this website or sending documents to us does not create an attorney-client relationship and information or documents you give us will not be kept confidential unless you call us, tell us who is involved in your case, and let us do a conflict of interest check.

AREAS OF PRACTICE

  • Annulment of Marriage
  • Appeals
  • CERTIFIED SPECIALIST – OSBA Certified Family Relations Specialist
  • Child Support
  • Columbus Ohio Collaborative Family Law
  • Contempt of Court
  • Custody
  • Dissolution of Marriage
  • Divorce
  • Divorce & Alimony
  • Divorce & Assets
  • Divorce & Business Owners
  • Divorce & Child Support
  • Divorce & Custody
  • Divorce & Professional or Medical Practice Owners
  • Family Law
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  • Legal Separation
  • LGBT Family Law, Divorce, Custody
  • Military Divorce
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  • Ohio Collaborative Divorce
  • Parental Alienation
  • Paternity
  • Post-Decree Modifications
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  • Shared Parenting
  • Temporary Orders in Ohio
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From our downtown Columbus offices we serve clients throughout Ohio. We also service areas such as Gahanna, Bexley, Blacklick, Columbus, Dublin, Hilliard, Lancaster, Westerville, New Albany, Pickerington, Powell, Upper Arlington, Worthington, Lancaster, Franklin County, Fairfield County and more. In addition, we serve clients in several Ohio Counties, including, but not limited to: Franklin County, Delaware County, Licking County, and Fairfield County.

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  • Adoption (4)
  • Alimony or Spousal Support (3)
  • Annulment (5)
  • Appeals (3)
  • Child Custody (39)
  • Child Support (15)
  • Civil Protection Orders & Domestic Violence (3)
  • Collaborative Divorce (1)
  • Contempt & Enforcement (12)
  • Dissolution , Amicable Divorce, No Fault Divorce (15)
  • Divorce (45)
  • Emergency Custody and Supervised Visitation (3)
  • Father's Rights and Paternity (12)
  • Grandparents Rights in Ohio (14)
  • Guardian ad Litem (3)
  • High Asset Divorce (2)
  • Interstate Family Law (2)
  • Jurisdiction and Venue (6)
  • Legal Separation (5)
  • LGBT Family Law (6)
  • Mediation (1)
  • Military Family Law (3)
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  • Moving and Relocation (10)
  • Ohio County Visitation Schedules (86)
  • Parental Alienation (2)
  • Post Decree Cases (6)
  • Prenuptial Agreements or Antenuptial Agreements (3)
  • Psychological Evaluations (2)
  • Shared Parenting (2)
  • Step-Parent Adoption (1)
  • Tax Issues (1)
  • Temporary Orders (5)
  • Uncategorized (14)
  • Uncontested Divorce (2)
  • Unmarried Parents (6)
  • Visitation (6)

Recent Posts:

  • Appealing Your Ohio Family Law Judgment Entry
  • The Ohio LGBT community’s new right to marry also means the right to step-parent adoption
  • Ohio LGBT Shared Custody Agreements: Get it in Writing!
  • Columbus Ohio Same Sex Divorce Lawyer & Prenuptial Agreement Lawyer
  • Same Sex Divorce in Ohio: U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Bans on Same Sex Marriage

From our downtown Columbus offices we serve clients throughout Ohio. We also service areas such as Bexley, Blacklick, Columbus, Delaware, Dublin, Gahanna, Hilliard, Lancaster, Marysville, Westerville, New Albany, Newark, Pickerington, Plain City, Powell, Upper Arlington, Worthington, Lancaster, Zanesville and more. In addition, we serve clients in all Ohio Counties, including, but not limited to: Franklin County, Delaware, Licking, Logan, Fairfield, Union, Marion, Muskingum, Pickaway, Ross, Richland, Madison, Morrow, Knox, and more.

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Law Offices of Virginia C. Cornwell
408 Emory St
Columbus , OH , 43230
(614) 225-9316
Latitude: 40.00734
Longitude: -82.84535