Fill and Sign the California Paternity Form

Prepared by U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. Copyright 2016 - U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. PATERNITY CASE PACKET STATE OF CALIFORNIA Control Number – CA-598P This packet contains the following: 1. Instructions ; 2. Forms ; and 3. Access to California Law Summary. I. EXPLANATION OF AN ACTION TO ESTABLISH PARENTAGE A. General Information First, it helps to understand the purpose of a parentage case. The Uniform Parentage Act case, which we will call the parentage case in the following information, is used to ofcially establish a parent-child relationship between a child (or children) and unmarried parents. Once parentage is established upon the request of the mother or father, the court may then make orders for child support, health insurance, child custody, visitation, name change, reimbursement of pregnancy and birth expenses, and restraining orders. Establishing paternity is also important in order to secure for the child certain benefts, such as social security, veteran's benefts, and inheritance rights. Be aware that the parent with whom the child is living does not automatically have custody rights by merely starting a case. Preparing and fling the forms is only the beginning of the process to obtain court orders. Next, paternity must be confrmed by one or both parents or be determined by testing. Then , custody, visitation and support issues can be addressed. B. Where should the case be fled? A paternity action should be started in the county in which the child resides or is found. If you start the case in the wrong county or state, but the judge may decide later that another county or state should handle the case. C. If the Petitioner is under the age of 18, someone will need to be appointed to sign court documents on behalf of the Petitioner. This person is called a Guardian Ad Litem. This step is necessary for minors to start a case as well as to respond to one. II. WHAT FORMS ARE INCLUDED A. Petition to Establish Parental Relationship, 1296.60 B. Summons (UPA), 1296.605 C. Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), MC-150 D. Response to Petition to Establish Parental Relationship, 1296.65 E. Proof of Service, DV-140 Note: This package contains forms for use throughout your State. However, some Counties, or Judges may require a diferent form, or modifcation to these forms. If this happens, please consult with your local Court Clerk. If you are required to use additional forms, please advise us by sending an e-mail to orders@uslegalforms.com. III. PROCEDURE FOR PATERNITY CASE IN THE STATE OF MISSOURI A. Preliminary Note: 1. The attached forms may be completed by: a. Printing the forms and completing by hand. Use black ink and print neatly. b. Printing the forms and completing using a typewriter. c. By completing the forms on your computer using a word processing program and then printing the forms. 2. Use complete names and not initials. Check your spelling carefully, a misspelled word can delay your name change. 3. Print three (3) complete sets of forms. 4. All forms with a heading – the name of the court, the Petitioner’s name, the case number, and the name of the document – require that the heading be completed. You will need to add the name of the court and the full name of the Petitioner. The “Action/Cause No.” will be assigned by the court clerk at the time of fling. 5. Forms that require your signature and include a notary block MUST be signed in the presence of the notary or court clerk who will complete the acknowledgement. Use your complete name – frst name, middle name, last name. 6. When a form is fled with the court, request the clerk “fle-stamp” one copy of the form for your fle. 7. A Law Summary is available and can be printed for your State. To do so, go to where you located this package and select the Law Summary link under the form title and print. Review the Law Summary before beginning the process of completing the forms. B. Procedure Step 1: Complete all the forms using complete names – middle names instead of middle initials. Step 2: File the Petition in the Circuit Court in the county in which the child resides, the mother resides, or the alleged father resides or is found or, if the father is deceased, in which proceedings for probate of his estate have been or could be commenced. Step 3: The Clerk of the Court will assign a date for the informal hearing and issue the Summons to be served on the Respondent. Step 4: If the Respondent is located within the geographical limits of the Circuit Court, you must arrange for personal service of the Summons and Petition. Service can be made by: (1) the sherif or the sherif's deputy, by some other person specially appointed by the court for that purpose, or by any person who is not a party and is not less than 18 years of age; or (2) in any county by the chief of police of that county or the chief's duly authorized subordinate. If the defendant is not found within the circuit, service may be efectuated by registered or certifed mail, with request for a return receipt and direction to deliver to addressee only. The return receipt signed by the defendant shall be prima facie evidence that the defendant accepted delivery of the complaint and summons on the date set forth on the receipt. Actual receipt by the defendant of the complaint and summons sent by registered or certifed mail shall be equivalent to personal service on the defendant by an authorized process server as of the date of the receipt. Step 5: After the Respondent has been served, the next steps are all in preparation for the Informal Hearing. Step 6: At this point it is necessary to make a determination whether the Respondent will agree to an admission of paternity. If not, it will be necessary to have court ordered blood tests in order to scientifcally determine parentage of the minor child(ren). Step 7: If the Respondent will admit paternity, complete the Compromise Agreement. The Agreement can then be submitted to the Court at the Informal Hearing. The parties should be prepared to present to the Court fnancial information regarding their income, debts and assets so that the court will have the information necessary to determine whether the Agreement is reasonable. Step 8: If a compromise can’t be reached it will be necessary to obtain an Order for Genetic Testing. The court may, and upon request of a party, will, require the child and the alleged parent to submit to genetic tests, including blood tests. If the requesting party is the mother or the alleged father, the court shall require that the request be made pursuant to a sworn statement either setting forth facts establishing a reasonable possibility of the requisite sexual contact between the parties or denying paternity setting forth facts establishing a reasonable possibility of the non-existence of sexual contact between the parties. If the Respondent will agree to the testing, prepare the Agreement for Genetic Testing and the Order for Genetic Testing by Agreement. If the Respondent will not agree to the testing, prepare the Motion for Genetic Testing, Order for Genetic Testing, and Afdavit in Support of Motion for Genetic Testing for fling with the Court at the Hearing. The results of the genetic testing will be furnished directly to the Court. At that time, the parties will be informed by the Court of the results. This will generally deal with all the outstanding issues as to paternity and the matter will be settled by the Court either dismissing the case or, if the testing confrms paternity in the Respondent, entering an Order establishing paternity and providing for support to the child(ren). Court Etiquette Note: Actual procedures may vary from Court to Court as to actual steps at the hearing, necessity for an actual hearing and formality. This is presented merely as a guide and is principally directed to the Informal Hearing that will be held shortly after the Petition is fled and the Respondent is served with the Summons and a copy of the Petition. In Missouri, it is customary for the informal hearing to be conducted by a “Master”. The Master is a an ofcer of the court appointed to assist a judge in a particular case by hearing and reporting on the case, sometimes by making fndings of fact and conclusions of law, and by performing various related functions. The Clerk should be able to instruct you on the actual procedures to be used. 1. Court Clerk, Administrator or Judge/Master Calls Case and asks if parties are ready. 2. You Stand and State that you are present and ready to proceed. 3. Judge/Master asks you to proceed or asked that you be sworn and then asks you questions. 4. If the Judge/Master asks you to proceed, you state “You Honor, My name is ____________ and I am the [Plaintif, Petitioner, Joint Complainant] in this case. I am ready to proceed.” . I am requesting a Judicial Determination of Parentage and believe I have fled the necessary documents and followed the directions of the Court and Clerk. I believe I am ready to with the informal hearing. 5. Judge may ask questions of you about the allegations contained in the Petition. 6. The court may, and upon request of any party shall require the child, mother, alleged father, any presumed father who is a party to the action, and any male witness who testifes or shall testify about his sexual relations with the mother at the possible time of conception, to submit to blood tests. The tests shall be performed by an expert as defned in subsection 7 of this section. 7. If the Judge does not ask questions but requests that you explain the Petition, you should verbally restate the contents of the Petition to the Judge with an explanation of each point. (Go thought Petition and restate all important facts.) 8. At this point, the Judge/Master may ask you to present the Motion for Genetic Testing Order for his signature or ask you additional questions. After the Judge/Master signs the order, you will be advised of the next step to take after the results of the blood tests have been received by the Court. 9. The entire process as set forth in the Uniform Parentage Act is to determine the parentage of a child. You should be prepared, prior to fling the Petition, with the details of your relationship with the other party which illustrate the likelihood that the two of you have a child in common. General Rules: 1. Arrive early in order to locate the proper courtroom and inform the courtroom personnel that you are the Petitioner in the action fled as No. XXXXXX and you are ready to proceed. 2. Dress as though this is a very important employment interview – dress to persuade and convince. FORMS DOWNLOAD PAGE In order that we can provide you with the most up to date forms at all times, all forms are located on our servers for you to down load, complete and print. Downloading instructions are provided and we will assist if you have any problems. To access the download page please do the following: 1. Click on the link below or type the link into your Internet browser under location. 2. 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