A paternity action can actually be brought by the child, the mother, a man who believes he is the father, the child's guardian, the child's personal representative, the State of Washington or any other interested party.

What situations cause paternity actions to be brought?

Paternity cases are usually filed due to other related issues. One typical situation is that of a woman seeking child support for a child, who needs to establish that a certain man is the father of the child so that child support can be ordered. Another common situation is that of a man being denied access to a child that he believes is his, and he wants to establish paternity so that the Court can order visitation/primary residential placement.

How is paternity established?

Paternity is established through genetic testing through blood or saliva. The test results usually take a few weeks and will typically confirm that the person is the parent by greater than 99% probability, or will exclude the person as the parent of the child.

What happens after the test results are received?

If the test results indicate that there is a parent/child relationship, then the Court will enter an order establishing the parent/child relationship, and child support will be set, as well as visitation with the child. State law previously required a guardian ad litem to be appointed in every paternity case. This has recently been changed. A guardian ad litem may still be appointed in cases where the Court deems their input necessary.

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