A recent study published by the University of Oklahoma looked at the instances when American fathers are most likely to claim paternity of a child born outside of wedlock. According to the study, men are more likely to voluntarily step forward if the woman is 1) affluent, 2) healthy, 3) educated, and 4) if the baby is male. The results of the research were published in the journal Human Nature.
In the United States, there is an emphasis on naming the legal father of a child when he or she is born. When the woman is married, the husband will be indicated automatically to be the father on the birth certificate. Nevertheless, 40 percent of children are born to unmarried mothers in the United States. In these situations, the father must be formally named, and he must voluntarily claim his paternity by signing an Acknowledgment of Paternity. This form will guarantee the father’s parental rights, and allow the mother to seek child support more easily.
All this said, there are a lot of cases where legal paternity remains unestablished. Statistics show that in 69.7 percent of cases, in which a child is born to an unwed mother, paternity is established. This totals up to about 750,000 babies leaving hospitals without a legal father in the United States every year.
No Tennessee mother should have to finance the rearing of her child by herself. It takes two to have a baby, and it takes two to raise a child. If you wish to seek child support from the father of your child, the law is on your side.
Source: phys.org, “When does a man say 'I'm the father'?,” accessed March 13, 2017
