Also known as: filiation suit · filiation action · filiation actions · paternity suit · paternity suits · affiliation suit
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A proceeding to establish the paternity of a nonmarital child and to secure support or other parental rights.
Francois Fortier sought to enroll his nonmarital son in a city training program at age nineteen. The program required nonmarital children to prove a support order entered within six years of birth. No such order existed, so the city denied enrollment even though the father had maintained steady contact and the city had no evidence of fraud or stale claims.
Felipe Figueroa lived with his child and the mother for two years after birth but never married her. When the mother placed the child for adoption without his consent, he filed a filiation suit to establish paternity and block the adoption.
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Freya Freeman gave birth while married to Gerald. Michael claimed biological paternity through blood tests showing 98 percent probability. Michael filed a filiation suit seeking visitation while Gerald remained the legal father under state presumption.
After the mother died, the paternal grandparents of Francesca Fowler's child filed for visitation. The mother had never married the father, and the grandparents initiated a filiation proceeding to establish the father's rights before seeking contact.
Fumiko Fujimoto sued Fumio for child support. The court ordered blood tests but Fumio could not afford them. He moved for state-funded testing in the filiation action so he could defend against the support claim.
Felicia Fuentes gave birth out of wedlock and placed the child with a licensed agency. The biological father, who had never lived with the child, filed a filiation suit seeking custody after the state moved to terminate his rights.
An acknowledged parent who signed a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity is entitled to notice before any court adjudicates another person's parentage of the same child. The statute protects that acknowledged status even without a biological tie.
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A six-year cutoff that applies only to nonmarital children while allowing marital children to seek support at any time fails intermediate scrutiny. The state must show the deadline is substantially related to preventing stale or fraudulent claims, which it cannot do without supporting evidence.
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An unwed father who has established a substantial relationship with the child receives constitutional protection. Failure to provide notice can violate due process when the father has shouldered responsibility for the child.
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…dispute); McDaniels v. Carlson , 108 Wash. 2d 299, 310, 738 P. 2d 254, 261 (1987) (elucidating "best interests" standard in paternity suit context). More broadly, a search of current state custody and visitation laws reveals fully 698 separate references to the "best interest of the child" standard, a number that, at a…