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| There are many benefits to establishing paternity for your child. They include: |
- Parents ~ The child knows both its mother and father
- Identity ~ Your child will share in both parents lives and heritage
- Finances ~ Both parents share in the financial responsibilities of the child
- Inheritance ~ Your child would be entitled to any inheritance
- Social Security ~ If the father were to become deceased, the child would be eligible for Social Security benefits
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| If you would like to get paternity established, contact your local CSEA. The CSEA will schedule an appointment for you, or both parties together, to come in and complete the necessary paperwork needed on the initial application. You will be asked some very personal questions that you may feel uncomfortable answering. Please note that all information is confidential, and only released to the parties of the paternity action, or their parents, if the parties are not of legal age. |
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| Once the initial interview is conducted, your information is forwarded to our legal division, who contacts all parties and schedules an Administrative Paternity Conference. This conference is and informal meeting held at the CSEA. All parties, including the child, are requested to attend. |
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| You will receive a notice in the mail informing you of the time and date of the conference. |
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| At the Conference, the Hearing Officer will review all options with the parties. Either or all parties can request genetic testing at this time. If genetic testing is requested, a method called Buccal Swab testing is done. This procedure is painless, and involves the use of a large "Q-tip" like swab in which tissue samples are obtained from inside the mouth of the mother, child and alleged father(s). |
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| The method used to obtain these samples are very strict, and includes obtaining pictures and fingerprints of the mother, alleged father(s) and child. You will also need to sign a form stating that the sample obtained was indeed taken from you and your child. If you are a minor, you will need a parent or legal guardian to accompany you to this conference and testing as well. |
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| The samples are forwarded to the genetic testing laboratory. Here strict guidelines are followed in testing all tissue samples. Results are normally sent back to our Agency within three weeks. |
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| If all parties are in agreement, and do not wish to have genetic testing completed, you can choose to voluntarily sign a paternity acknowledgment. This acknowledgment must be signed in front of a notary. There are situations where a paternity acknowledgement cannot be signed. One of these situations is where the mother of the child was married to someone else at the time that the child was conceived. |
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| An unmarried female who gives birth to a child is the sole residential parent and legal custodian of the child until a court of competent jurisdiction issues an order designating another person as the residential parent and legal custodian. |
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| If the parties choose not to sign the acknowledgment, genetic testing will be ordered. Once the genetic test results are received back at the CSEA, an administrative order will be prepared (either establishing paternity or excluding the alleged father, based on the test results) and mailed to the parties. Either party not agreeing with the results, may object by filing a complaint with the Court within thirty days of the issuance of this order. |
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| During the administrative process, you can also discuss arrangements regarding parenting times with the child. In some limited cases an agreed parenting times agreement may be accepted by the court. If the parties can agree on the child's last name, the last name of the child can also be changed. |
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| Once the issue of paternity is established, a support hearing is also held. Using both the mother and father's income, support is set based on Ohio Revised Code guidelines, and forwarded to both parties. If either party objects to the amount set, they can request a Court hearing in writing. The CSEA will then request the Domestic Relations Court to schedule a hearing date and time. While a CSEA Attorney or representative may be present at this hearing, they do not represent any of the parties, and are present only to answer any questions concerning the hearing held at the CSEA. |