It is increasingly common for our lawyers to receive filiation cases, which are colloquially called paternity or parentage trials. There are several reasons why someone does not recognize his children. The most traditional reason would be a person who has more than one “family” and only recognizes the children of the person with whom he is married but not of his other partner. Also, there are some more modern reasons, such as the fact that some families decide that only one parent recognizes the child to benefit from public aid as a single-parent family.

In any case not recognizing your son or daughter becomes a problem when there is a break in the couple’s relationship.

Sometimes it is a problem for the father, who wants a joint custody but the mother denies it, saying that he is not recognized as the father.

Other times it is a problem for the mother, who needs child support but the father refuses to pay it, arguing that he does not appear as the father and therefore does not have parental obligations.

The problems are very diverse and differ depending on whether the client of the law firm is the father or the mother.

What are the tests that I can use to prove a parentage?

Paternity is often proven in different ways, for example: There are children with a striking resemblance to their fathers; there are parents who deliver photos in affectionate and couple attitudes with the other parent; other parents have photos with the minors that reflect the paternal role throughout the life of the minor; there are those who use witnesses; there are those who have even done paternity tests; WhatsApp messages and audios are also increasingly used evidence… In short, any means admitted by law can be valid evidence.

How long does a registration procedure take?

The affiliation procedure is a so-called verbal procedure that is slightly faster than an ordinary procedure.

Despite this, like all court proceedings, it is very difficult to know how long a paternity proceeding will last. It depends a lot on the court. We have cases that have been resolved in a few months and some that have lasted more than a year. What we can indicate is that if there is adequate evidence, these procedures are usually resolved with recognized paternity.

What does it mean that the condition of father is recognized?

The recognition of paternity supposes that what is called parental authority is recognized. As we all know, being a father entails a series of rights, but also many obligations.

Among the rights would be, among others, the following:

• The right to interact with the minor.

• The right to decide on essential aspects of the minor’s life.

• The right to know everything related to the minor.

Among the obligations would be, among others, the following:

• The obligation to financially support the minor.

• The obligation to take care of the minor.

• The obligation to provide minors with the necessary care.

Paternity and inheritance

Likewise, paternity also affects hereditary rights since in most hereditary systems the children are legitimate heirs who are entitled to a part of the inheritance.

Obviously, this article will not have resolved all your doubts, but we hope that it has been able to give you a general idea of ​​how the process works and if you have other questions, you can contact our lawyers.