Paternity Actions

Paternity Rights/Non-Marital Parental Relationships

A paternity action is a child custody and/or child support action brought between nonmarried parents of a child.

Whether you are a father seeking to prove the paternity of your child or a mother seeking a child support order from the alleged father of your child, the paternity and child custody lawyers at Griffith Young can help.

Give us a call at 858-345-1720 or contact us online to get started immediately. When needed, we accept same-day or after-hours appointments. We serve all of San Diego County from our office in Carlsbad.

Paternity Actions In Carlsbad

A paternity action is always a non-divorce action brought by an unmarried parent in order to establish a child support or child custody order, or both. Paternity actions may or may not require the father to take a paternity test depending on whether one of the parents contests the paternity of the child.

Paternity law in California is complex and ever-evolving. Many laws have resulted in divesting biological parents of parental rights merely because they waited too long to assert them. Further, some laws prevent a nonbiological parent from contesting paternity after a certain amount of time has passed since the birth of the child.

Can you disestablish paternity in California?

Yes, but it’s difficult and time-sensitive. In California, once paternity is legally established—either by signing a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity or through a court order—it’s not easy to reverse. The law puts the child’s stability first. If the declaration was signed, you usually have just 60 days to cancel it. After that, disestablishing paternity means filing a formal request in court and providing strong evidence like DNA test results. If a court already ruled on paternity, the deadline is usually two years from when you first had reason to believe the child might not be yours. Even with proof, the court can deny your request if it believes undoing paternity would harm the child emotionally or financially. Judges look closely at how long the child believed you were their father and whether ending that bond would hurt them. This is not an easy process, but it is possible. Griffith Young helps handle tough paternity disputes with clarity and care. We focus on protecting your future and the child’s best interests.

Contact Griffith Young’s Paternity Attorneys

If you are a mother seeking to establish paternity of your child’s father, a father seeking parental rights, or a purported father seeking a DNA test to obtain the truth as to whether or not you have fathered a child, you must understand your legal rights before it is too late to assert them.

Contact our team of Carlsbad paternity attorneys. We can be reached online or at 858-345-1720.