California courts generally use the term parentage for what many people still call a paternity case. Establishing parentage means creating a legally recognized parent-child relationship. That status carries both rights and responsibilities.
Why Legal Parentage Matters
Only a legal parent may ordinarily ask the family court for custody and visitation orders. Legal parents also have a duty to support their child. Parentage can affect a birth certificate, inheritance, medical history, Social Security or survivor benefits, health insurance, and some citizenship questions.
If legal parentage is uncertain, it is usually necessary to resolve that issue before the court can make a complete set of parenting and support orders.
1. Voluntary Declaration of Parentage
Eligible parents can sign a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage, often called a VDOP. It is frequently signed at the hospital, but it may also be completed later through authorized government offices. The declaration must be properly completed and filed with the California Department of Child Support Services.
Once effective, a valid filed VDOP generally has the same force as a parentage judgment. That is why no one should sign it merely to simplify a birth certificate when there is uncertainty about legal or genetic parentage.
2. A Parentage Case in Superior Court
A person seeking a judgment may file a Petition to Determine Parental Relationship and have the other party formally served. The respondent can agree, dispute the request, seek genetic testing, or raise another recognized legal basis for or against parentage.
The case generally moves through filing, service, response, evidence or agreement, and a final judgment. If a parent needs immediate custody, visitation, support, or testing orders, additional papers are usually required to request temporary orders.
3. A Local Child Support Agency Case
The Local Child Support Agency can open a free case to establish parentage and child support. The agency may arrange genetic testing and ask the court for financial and health-insurance orders. An LCSA case can be useful, but the agency does not represent either parent and generally does not resolve every contested custody or visitation issue.
Where DNA Testing Fits
Genetic testing may be important when biological parentage is disputed, and a court can order an approved test. A private test alone, however, does not create a parentage judgment or automatically erase an existing legal relationship.
California law also recognizes circumstances in which someone may be a presumed parent, including certain marital relationships or when a person receives a child into their home and openly holds the child out as their own. Voluntary declarations, assisted-reproduction rules, existing judgments, and competing presumptions can make the analysis more complex than a DNA percentage.
Can a VDOP Be Canceled?
California Courts explains that a parent can often rescind a VDOP through the Department of Child Support Services within 60 days of signing. If a related custody or support case is already pending, or more time has passed, a court request may be necessary. Later set-aside requests require a legal basis and are governed by strict deadlines, so prompt advice matters.
What Happens After Parentage Is Established?
A parentage judgment does not automatically create a complete parenting plan. The parents may still need orders addressing legal custody, physical custody, regular parenting time, holidays, exchanges, travel, decision-making, child support, health insurance, and uncovered expenses.
The best approach is to plan for the order the family actually needs, not merely the label of legal parent.
Documents to Gather
- The child’s birth certificate and any hospital parentage forms
- Any filed VDOP, rescission, parentage judgment, or adoption order
- Court petitions, summonses, custody orders, or LCSA notices
- Genetic-test records and communications about testing
- A timeline of residence, caregiving, support, and representations of parentage
Primary California Resources
- California Courts: Parentage in California
- California Courts: The process to determine parentage
- California Courts: Voluntary Declaration of Parentage
- California Courts: Canceling a VDOP
- California Family Code § 7573
- California Family Code § 7611
This article provides general information, not legal advice. Parentage rules and deadlines depend on the facts, documents, and procedural history of each matter.