Oklahoma City Lawyers Helping Clients Establish Paternity
Last updated on October 28, 2025
There is much about having a spouse and children that is anything but simple or clear. While you may believe that establishing your paternity over a child is simple, it is often not. You will need a lawyer at your side to help guide you through the nuanced layers of establishing paternity, visitation, custody, child support and your rights as a father of a child as you move forward.
That is where Self Legal Group comes in. Our team has over a century of combined family law experience, allowing us to guide you through the legal process of establishing paternity and offer clarity at every step. Call us at 405-353-6387 or contact us online to schedule an initial consultation with our team.
Paternity: Who Is A Child’s Father In The Eyes Of The Law?
Many different people can have a fatherly relationship with a child. These include:
- Presumed father: If a man is married to the mother of a child at the time of the child’s conception or birth, the law accepts him as the father of the child.
- Stepfather: When a woman gets married to a man when she already has a child from a different man, that man becomes the child’s stepfather. Stepparents do not automatically have the right to custody or visitation.
- Unwed father: If a child’s mother is not married to that child’s father at the time of conception or birth, the law does not necessarily view this man as the child’s father.
- Acknowledged father: An unmarried man can self-confess to being a child’s father to establish paternity.
Paternity determines a child’s legal father. This gives him the right to pursue custody and visitation as well as the responsibility to financially support the child. While this happens automatically for married parents, unmarried parents must take additional steps to establish a child’s legal father.
How Can Unmarried Parents Establish Paternity?
In Oklahoma, parents generally have two different ways of establishing a child’s legal father. Parents may want to have legal guidance when determining which process is right for their family, moving forward with establishing paternity and reaching a fair outcome for custody and support.
Option 1: Acknowledgment Of Paternity (AOP)
If parents agree on paternity, they can complete an Acknowledgment of Paternity form to add the father’s name to the birth certificate. This gives the father legal rights and responsibilities to the child but also requires the agreement of both parents.
Option 2: Establishing Paternity Through The Court
If parents do not agree on a child’s paternity, either parent can file a petition with the court to establish paternity. This allows fathers to protect their right to custody or visitation with their child, and it allows parents to pursue child support if necessary.
If parents take this path, one parent will petition the court to establish paternity. The court will then determine who fathered the child, which often involves genetic testing. After determining who the child’s father is, the court will issue a court order that allows parents to update the birth certificate and pursue child custody or support.
Contact Our Paternity Attorneys In Oklahoma City Today
Contact our Oklahoma attorneys today, and together we will work toward a solution. We have lawyers versed in paternity cases and child custody, so contact a paternity attorney today and secure your parental rights and child custody.
We offer a phone consultation and reasonable fees. Credit cards accepted. Call us at 405-353-6387 or reach out to our team online to learn more.