Jersey City Paternity Claims Lawyer

When is A Man Considered a Father Based on New Jersey Law?

In New Jersey, a man is considered a father when either the court enters a judgment of paternity or judgment of adoption, which declares the man to be the father of the child; or, if the parents are not married, legal paternity is proven by both parents signing a Certificate of Parentage (COP) which is a statement by both parties indicating they believe him to be the child’s father and the filing the COP with the State Registrar. If paternity has not been established, a legal presumption where the court assumes specific things to be true unless evidence is admitted to prove otherwise comes into play. Legal presumptions of paternity come into play:

• If the parents were married within 300 days of the child’s birth, the husband of the mother at the time of birth is presumed to be the child’s father. This law also presumes the husband as the father if he died or divorced the mother within 300 days before the baby’s birth.
• Couples who marry after the child’s birth only if the husband tells others that the child is his biological child, he agrees to or is ordered to pay child support, he has his name listed as the father on the child’s birth certificate, or he acknowledges paternity in writing to the state registrar.
• If the parents are unmarried but the man tells people he is the child’s father and he provides child support before the child’s 18th birthday.
• A husband who isn’t the biological father will be deemed the father if the biological father and mother sign the COP then the husband and mother sign a Denial of Parentage and file both forms with the State Registrar.
• A married couple is considered a child’s legal parents if they are married, the husband agrees to artificial insemination, and the insemination is performed by a licensed physician.