In New York when a child is born out of wedlock paternity needs to be established. A father can sign at the child’s birth an acknowledgment of paternity. In this situation if there is no dispute as to who the father is, a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity establishes the father’s rights as a parent. The acknowledgment of paternity needs to be executed by both parents at the time the child is born in the hospital.
Paternity Petition
In cases where an acknowledgment of paternity is not executed, at the time the child is born, in the hospital, a paternity petition may need to be initiated in the Family Courts in the State of New York.
A paternity petition can be filed by a father at any time until the child reaches the age of 21. If there is a paternity issue and the mother disputes who the father is, the court can order both parents to submit to genetic testing for a DNA determination to determine if the man alleging to be the child’s biological father is actually the biological father. In a case where the court determines a man is the biological father, the court will issue an Order of Filiation. The Order of Filiation states that the man who brought the paternity petition is actually the child’s legal father. In this situation the man’s name can be added to the child’s birth certificate.
Custody & Child Support
Once paternity is established issues involving visitation, child support and custody of the child can be dealt with by the court. The non-residential parent will have to pay child support to the parent the child lives with.
Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is a divorce lawyer representing men and women throughout the Metropolitan New York area. He can be reached at Elliot@sdnylaw.com or 800-344-6431.
The law in the State of New York is gender neutral. Each parent has an equal opportunity to have custody of their children. However, many fathers who are involved in 
There was a time in New York when the man’s responsibility was to support the family and the woman’s responsibility was to raise the children and maintain the home. That changed a long time ago. However, there are implicit biases still maintained by some in the legal system regarding men being the financial providers and women being responsible for raising the children.
Each parent plays an important role in their children’s lives. This takes place until children have reached an age where they are fully independent of parents for support, care, intellectual development and ethical issues for their children. Children form bonds with their parents in their early years. When a 
In the Family Courts of New York, 
