What Are the Paternity Laws in Massachusetts?

To protect their child’s legal rights and clarify roles and responsibilities, unmarried parents need to establish paternity. In Massachusetts, paternity laws provide a framework for identifying the legal father of a child for custody, parenting time, and child support orders. But what are the paternity laws in Massachusetts?

This page explores paternity laws in Massachusetts, how paternity is established, and the influence on child custody and child support decisions. Paternity findings can also impact broader family law matters such as alimony, divorce, property division, and child relocation.

What Is Paternity?

Legal paternity gives a man both rights and obligations when it comes to caring for his child. In Massachusetts, paternity must be legally established if the parents aren’t married. If the parents are married at the time of the child’s birth, paternity is assumed.

Establishing paternity ensures both parents can participate in the child’s life and share in the responsibilities of child-rearing. It also gives the child access to important benefits, such as inheritance rights, health insurance, and emotional and financial support from each parent. In addition, the child can have a full medical history report from both parents that can be essential to their future healthcare.

In Massachusetts, 32.7% of births were to unmarried mothers, with 67,851 births occurring in 2024. These statistics reveal the prevalent need for legal paternity establishment. In the nation as a whole, 300,000 paternity tests occur yearly.

How to Establish Paternity in Massachusetts

For unmarried parents, there are two main methods of establishing paternity. Understanding this process is essential to protecting both unmarried fathers’ rights, including custody, visitation, and decision making, and mothers’ rights, including securing child support and ensuring the child’s well-being. These include:

• Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage (VAP): This involves the simple process of signing a form in the hospital or shortly after. Both parents must voluntarily sign the form, and it must be notarized and filed with the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics at 150 Mt. Vernon St. in Dorchester. Parents have 60 days to rescind the acknowledgment. The VAP adds the father’s name to the birth certificate, legally establishing him as the child’s parent.
• Court-ordered paternity: If there’s a disagreement about the child’s paternity or one party that acknowledges it, either parent can ask the court to establish paternity. This involves filing a Complaint to Establish Paternity with the Probate and Family Court at 35 Shawmut Road in Canton. The court may order genetic testing. If this confirms paternity, the court issues a Judgment of Paternity.

Who Can File for Paternity in Massachusetts?

Filing for paternity is the first step in obtaining child support or gaining parental rights for custody or visitation. The following individuals and entities can file a court case to establish paternity:

• The child’s mother
• The child’s father
• The child, with the help of a guardian
• The Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Child Support Enforcement Division

Paternity and Child Custody

Establishing paternity lets a father pursue visitation and custody rights in the state of Massachusetts. Once paternity is established, either parent can petition the court for these rights. Until then, the mother has sole legal and physical custody of the child by default.

In Massachusetts, understanding legal custody vs physical custody is important when navigating parental rights. Legal custody allows parents to make major decisions about the child’s life, while physical custody determines where the child lives and who provides daily care. Courts prioritize the best interests of the child when determining custody.

Factors that determine the child’s best interests include:

• The child’s age and overall needs
• Each parent’s ability to provide a stable environment
• The child’s relationships with each parent
• Any history of abuse, neglect, or substance abuse

Fathers can’t petition for child custody until paternity is established.

Paternity and Child Support

Once paternity is established, financial support can occur from both parents. Child support calculations are based on certain guidelines and consider the following factors:

• Each parent’s income
• The number of children
• The cost of health insurance and childcare
• Parenting time, such as custody and visitation arrangements

Regardless of whether the father is in the child’s life, he is still legally recognized as the parent and, therefore, obligated to help support the child financially. Failing to pay child support can result in penalties. These may include wage garnishment, tax interception, and jail time if the case is severe.

FAQs

Q: How Long Does a Father Have to Establish Paternity in Massachusetts?

A: A father has until the child turns 18 to establish paternity in Massachusetts. Establishing paternity as early as possible is helpful for the parent, however, as this can initiate parental rights and child support. Fathers can sign a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, or they can file a court action with the family and probate court in their county. Delaying the process of establishing paternity can complicate custody and support matters.

Q: What Are Fathers’ Rights in Massachusetts?

A: Fathers in Massachusetts have equal rights to seek custody, make decisions for the child, and have visitation rights. The law does not favor mothers or fathers. Instead, it bases all decisions on the child’s best interests. Fathers can request joint or sole custody, parenting time, and their ideas about the child’s education and healthcare needs. If the parents were not married when the child was born, the father must legally establish paternity before they’re able to exercise their rights.

Q: Can One Parent Keep a Child From the Other Parent Without Court Orders in Massachusetts?

A: Both parents have equal rights to their children in Massachusetts if they are married and if there are no other court orders in place. If they’re not married, the mother has sole custody until the father legally establishes paternity. In these cases, the mother may deny visitation. Once the court order is in place, parents can’t legally withhold the child from the other.

Q: How Much Paternity Leave Are Fathers Entitled to in Massachusetts?

A: Massachusetts law allows fathers up to 12 weeks of unpaid paternity leave under the Massachusetts Parental Leave Act. This applies to employers with six or more employees. Additionally, the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave program gives eligible fathers 12 paid weeks of leave for bonding with their children. Employees must meet certain requirements.

Contact a Paternity Lawyer Today

Navigating the paternity process can be complicated. The experienced attorneys of Farias Family Law, P.C., can help you better understand the paternity laws in Massachusetts and how they can impact you and your child’s future.

Contact us today to schedule a consultation to discuss your paternity case.