Establishment and denial of paternity

If a child’s parents are married, the law regards the child as having both a father and a mother. However, if the child’s parents are neither married nor registered partners, the law regards the child as having only a mother.

In order to become a legal father, the father must acknowledge his child. Even if he is not actually the biological father, he can still acknowledge a child as being his own. In all cases, the mother’s consent is required in order for the child to be acknowledged by the father. Should the mother refuse this consent, the father may ask the court for permission to acknowledge the child. If the mother contests the paternity, the father may ask the court to establish his paternity by performing a DNA test.

Similarly, a situation may arise in which the mother wishes to make a formal record of the child’s origins, but the father refuses to acknowledge the child. In this case, the mother may ask the court to establish the child’s paternity.

A father may wish to deny his paternity. A situation may arise in which a man is considered to be a child’s legal father under the law, even though he is not actually the biological father. The legal father, the mother and the child (assuming he or she is a minor) are entitled to ask the court to deny the father’s paternity. The sole ground on which paternity may be denied is the fact that the man in question is not the child’s biological father.