Paternity

Paternity means the relationship between a child and his or her biological father. Parentage, then, has to do with the relationship between a child and his or her biological parents. Most relationships that must be legally enforced due to a parent's rights, is that of the natural father to his son or daughter. In most paternity in Illinois cases, the natural father is not married to the birth mother, and was never married to her. Paternity attorneys try to fight on behalf of the father for rights such as custody, visitation, etc.

Under Illinois law, a child conceived during marriage is taken to be the child of the married individuals. However, this notion can be called out via DNA testing and evidence of infidelity. Finding out "who's the father" is not difficult, unless one of the spouses claims that the child wasn't a result of the marriage. Before DNA testing was available, it was sometimes hard to pin down accurate paternity (if infidelity was taking place).