Finding the Legal Father
No - the process of legally establishing a father is not as simple as you may think it is at first glance. There are several ways to accomplish becoming (or UN - becoming) a father pursuant to the law of Tennessee. Surprisingly, in my days as a juvenile and family attorney, I have seen some courts err in their determinations regarding legal fathers. In the world of dependent and neglected child, many times two fathers are named in a petition - a "legal" father and an "alleged" father. Here is my analysis, method by method, of establishing paternity (a/k/a fatherhood). 1. Marriage It would seem that the fact of the mother being married at the time of birth greatly simplifies the process of establishing paternity. If you are one of my fellow attorneys checking out this blog, give me a call. I will send you the statutes of reference for this post. The law in Tennessee only presumes that the husband of the mother is the father of her newborn child. This applies i...