Who Has Custody of a Child If The Parents Aren’t Married?
Are you a glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty person? We ask because everyone has heard that old chestnut, “Half of all marriages end in divorce.” Well, that ...
I’m Not the Father … Can I Have My Name Removed from the Birth Certificate?
Birth records in Virginia were not required before 1912. In some ways, life was simpler then. A kid was your kid if you said she was ...
I’m Paying Child Support for Children Who Aren’t Mine
This article is not about money. We know, child support means money, but the root of this issue is paternity, not money. If you are paying ...
She Didn’t Put Me on the Birth Certificate … Do I Have Any Rights?
Today's Latin lesson brings us the word “putativus,” which comes from a Latin stem meaning to believe or suspect. From this we get putative, as in Virginia's putative father registry. ...
I Signed the Birth Certificate, Then Found Out I’m Not the Father. What’s Next?
Dwayne Parsons knows what paternity fraud feels like. He will go on knowing for the next 1,913 years, after a Chester, Virginia judge ordered him to ...
Can I Get Custody If I’m Not on the Birth Certificate?
Some pieces of paper are unimportant: a losing lottery ticket; a completed grocery list; an expired gift certificate. Some incidental pieces of paper are extremely valuable: ...
How to Determine Paternity without a DNA Test
John Washington, aged 25, sailed on a ship from England to Virginia in 1656, serving as second officer. Though the ship wrecked in the Potomac River, ...
Establishment and Disestablishment of Paternity in Virginia: 5 Hard Facts
In matters of determining paternity—or ruling out paternity—hard facts are far superior to hysteria. Though paternity is an emotionally charged issue, the safety and well-being of ...