Erase In Legal Tennessee Paternity Forms For Free

Establishing Paternity in Tennessee In Tennessee, paternity is assumed when you are married, meaning in the court's eyes that you are the legal and biological father of the child in question. Therefore, if you are married to your child's mother, you will not have to take any further steps to establish paternity.

They need to have DNA testing to determine whether or not the individual is the father. They can contact a private DNA lab or their local child support office to schedule the DNA tests. Click here to find the child support office which serves the county in which you live.

The mother and father must both sign the same form in front of a notary. Once signed and notarized, the Acknowledgment of Paternity must be filed with, or sent to, the Office of Vital Records.

Parents can establish paternity in Tennessee until the child reaches age 21; however, the VAoP process is available only until the child reaches age 19. It is in the best interest of the child to establish paternity right away, preferably at the time of birth.

Tennessee law states the mother only needs her name listed on the birth certificate to provide sufficient proof but even if the father's name is listed, he isn't automatically granted rights if the parents are unwed. The certificate only shows his relationship to the child. It does not grant him any automatic rights.

The bill proposed that an unmarried man would be required to take a DNA test proving paternity before he could sign the voluntary acknowledgement of paternity and have his name on the birth certificate.