Acknowledgement Of Paternity Form Pa: Fill & Download for Free

The best thing for you to do is consult a lawyer in Pennsylvania. You can check with the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s referral service or the local bar association in the county in whose court the action is pending.The rights you have are the rights available to any litigant. You have the right to due process of law and a “day in court” on a contested issue, provided you bring it to the court’s attention in an appropriate manner. You have the duties that accure to any litigant, as well, notably that to respond to the action. If you ignore the “letter” (which I suppose is a complaint for support), it could well result in your losing any right to contest paternity.Pennsylvania adheres to the presumption of paternity. Brinkley v. King, 549 Pa. 241, 248, 701 A.2d 176, 180 (1997). This means if the child was born into a marriage, the husband¹ is presumed to be the father. If your ex-wife is on welfare, she was required by the Federal Social Security Act both to pursue support and to pursue it against you first; it will be up to you to challenge paternity. To challenge paternity, you need to present grounds to “open” the issue to the court. The attorney I suggested you consult in the first paragraph can help you do this with attention to the sensibilities of the judge who will be deciding the case. “Non-access” is a pretty compelling ground—and the Brinkley court held that if the couple were already separated when the child was conceived, that will overcome (or moot) the presumption. Id. at 251, 701 A.2d at 181. If non-access cannot be proven, you would have to suggest infidelity, a much messier proposition, and “paternity by estoppel” might have to be decided. If your motion is granted, the court will allow DNA testing to clarify the issue.You may have the right to contest jurisdiction. I have no idea from the limited details allowed by Quora as to whether that would apply in this case.² Long-arm jurisdiction is proper if there is some reasonable connection between you, the case, and the Commonwealth.³ Jurisdiction should be challenged by preliminary objections. Paternity does not have to be raised by objections and may be done by motion, but failing to make such a motion promptly after the initial conference will likely result in you waiving this as an issue. The establishment of a support order will result in a legal determination of paternity, and to open it thereafter you’ll not only have to show “non-access” or infidelity, but some good reason you couldn’t have made the request to open paternity sooner.If the child does turn out to be yours (or if you don’t challenge paternity), establishment proceedings will follow. You should attempt to participate in them; you will be allowed to participate by video conference or phone (usually phone, video links are expensive) on such terms as the local court feels appropriate. This is a right generally conferred by the statute as a matter of convenience, but you do have to let Domestic Relations know that you want to exercise it. We cannot read our out-of-town parties’ minds. (Some of them choose to show up in person instead of making phone appearances, which is also a right you have.) Not participating in your support proceedings can result in the court figuring your earning capacity⁴ without you, which obviously might not be in your best interest.Notes:¹ It is as yet unclear whether the presumption would be applied in a lesbian marriage, where the mother has a “wife” instead of a “husband.”² Of course, Quora is not a source for legal advice anyway—we are here to “share knowledge” about the system, but for proper advice you need to have a conversation in privity with a lawyer.³ See UIFSA § 201(a) (23 Pa.C.S. § 7201):In a proceeding to establish or enforce a support order or to determine parentage of a child, a tribunal of this State may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident individual or the individual's guardian or conservator if any of the following apply:(1) The individual is personally served with a writ of summons, complaint or other appropriate pleading within this State.(2) The individual submits to the jurisdiction of this State by consent in a record, by entering a general appearance or by filing a responsive document having the effect of waiving any contest to personal jurisdiction.(3) The individual resided with the child in this State.(4) The individual resided in this State and provided prenatal expenses or support for the child.(5) The child resides in this State as a result of the acts or directives of the individual.(6) The individual engaged in sexual intercourse in this State and the child may have been conceived by that act of intercourse.(7) The individual acknowledged parentage of the child on a form filed with the department under section 5103 (relating to acknowledgment and claim of paternity).(8) There is any other basis consistent with the constitutions of this State and the United States for the exercise of personal jurisdiction.⁴ Support is figured on earning capacity. While usually this is the same as the party’s actual earnings, there can be cases where the court concludes that someone ought to be working more and their children should not suffer because of a voluntary decision to be underemployed. Also see John Gragson's answer to How is the percentage of child support calculated in Pennsylvania? What factors are taken into consideration?

No. In the eyes of the law, you’re the only parent your child has. Since you weren’t married, and your ex didn’t sign the birth certificate or an acknowledgement of paternity and hasn’t been declared the legal father by a court, he has no parental rights. For that reason, he can’t stop you from moving. You’re free to go anywhere you want with your child.

If there has been a prior determination of paternity, probably not.¹Paternity (in the United States) may be established in one of five ways:A child born to a married woman is usually presumed to be the husband’s (if there is a husband—how this will play out in lesbian marriages is an evolving topic), and in order to defeat that presumption the putative father will need to demonstrate separation, non-access, or adultery.Paternity may be voluntarily acknowledged between an unmarried woman and an unmarried man at the time of the birth, or thereafter by the submission of a stipulation to a court.Paternity will be established by default if a support action is brought by the mother as plaintiff and the father fails to contest paternity promptly. This can happen either bynot showing up at the initial conference or byfailing to raise the issue before a support order is entered.Paternity might also be determined or stipulated as a result of a custody or dependency proceeding.Paternity (in at least some number of states) may be determined, independent of genetic testing, under an estoppel theory when a putative father has taken the child in as his own and acted in loco parentis. (Even without determining paternity, it’s not inconceivable, if rare, that support be ordered against a non-parent on a similar theory.)²Paternity may be determined after fact-finding proceedings which historically involved trials, but since the mid-1990s DNA testing, which is extremely accurate, has been the preferred method.If none of the situations in (1) through (4) apply and testing is requested, it’s generally granted.But if paternity was previously established by one of those methods, the putative father may be permitted to “open” paternity by demonstrating to the court such circumstances as would negate the applicability of the presumptions—material misrepresentation, mutual mistake of fact, fraudulent representations by the mother or other individuals, excusable neglect in failing to appear for a proceeding, and so forth—and that opening paternity is in the best interest of the child at issue—different judges have different ideas about this.As you can see, there are a number of ways in which the case may never proceed to a DNA test. There is also a great deal of procedural and substantive variation between state laws (although methods 2 and 3, being essentially required under the federal Child Support Enforcement Act, are pretty universal)³ as to how these provisions may apply.Thus, the best answer to this question will come from a local attorney familiar with family law in the appropriate jurisdiction, who can ask you specific questions about your case in confidence and apply the law to give constructive advice.Notes:¹ See also: John Gragson's answer to Can you get sued for child support without a paternity test?² Consider, for instance, A.S. v. I.S., 634 Pa. 629, 130 A.3d 763 (2015), quoted in John Gragson's answer to In PA, if a third party (grandparent) is granted legal custody, can the third party's income be used in the child support calculation?³ 42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(5).