The Family Support Division of our office files court actions to establish the paternity of children.  You do not have to be on public assistance to qualify for that service.
 
If you wish to start a paternity action, contact the Division of Child Support (DCS) (external link) or call 1-800-442-KIDS (1-800-442-5437) and tell them you need paternity establishment services.

If the father has passed away, our office cannot get you an order of paternity.  Any lawsuit against a deceased person must be filed against the deceased person’s personal representative as part of a probate action.  Our office does not handle probate actions.

In some very limited circumstances, our office may be able to facilitate genetic testing so that the child is eligible for social security benefits.  If you think your child may be eligible for social security benefits and the child’s father is recently deceased, call our office:

206-296-9020 Seattle
206-296-9595 Kent

A man cannot be legally obligated to make support payments until the father-child relationship is established by the signing and filing of a Paternity Affidavit or the entry of a Superior Court Order establishing paternity.  A man is also the presumed the father of any child born during the marriage of he and the mother.

Once a man has been legally established as the father of a child, a support order can be requested either administratively or through the courts.  Contact the Division of Child Support (DCS) (external link) or call 1-800-442-KIDS (1-800-442-5437)  for information about establishing a child support order and/or establishing paternity for your child.

If you are married to a woman and she has a child during that marriage, or within 300 days after the marriage has ended, you are the Presumed Father of that child until such time as another man is legally established as the father.

The Division of Child Support (DCS) may administratively establish child support against a presumed father at any time.

If the father is cooperative and the child was born in the state of Washington, the parents can complete a paternity affidavit to establish a man as the legal father of a child.  The paternity affidavit is a notarized statement executed by the father, the mother (and the mother’s husband, if she is married) declaring who the father is.

Once the completed paternity affidavit is filed with the Department of Health, then paternity is legally established and the Division of Child Support (DCS) can establish an administrative order of child support.  You may call the Division of Child Support at 1-800-442-KIDS (1-800-442-5437) and they will send you the form and an informational booklet without charge.  For more information about establishing paternity via a paternity affidavit visit the Division of Child Support (DCS)(external link).

If your name is on the birth certificate because:

. . . someone told the hospital that you were married to the mother, but you were not married to the mother.  Call the Division of Child Support (DCS) at 1-800-442-KIDS (1-800-442-5437) and tell them you want to do a "paternity establishment action". 

. . . you were married to the mother.  Your remedy is a "disestablishment action".   Our office does not handle disestablishment actions.  If the child is more than 2 years old, a disestablishment action may not be allowed under current Washington state law.  For more information on filing a paternity disestablishment action, visit the Family Law Facilitator website.

. . . you signed a paternity affidavit which was filed before July 01, 1997.  Call the Division of Child Support (DCS) at 1-800-442-KIDS (1-800-442-5437) and tell them you want to do a "paternity establishment action".  If the affidavit was filed after that date, you probably want a "rescission action" or a "challenge to the affidavit".   A rescission action is easier, but must be done within 60 days of filing the affidavit.  Our office cannot do rescission actions or challenges.

The Court Facilitators may be helpful.  Call:
206-296-9092 Seattle
206-205-2526 Kent 

. . . a Court has found you to be the father of a child.  You have to "vacate" the court order before testing can be done.  If the State was a party to the action in which the order was entered, sometimes (but rarely) our office will cooperate in vacating the orders.  Call our Seattle office at 206-296-9020,  tell them you want to vacate a paternity order, and ask for a Request for Case Review.  When you return the completed form, it will be reviewed to determine if your orders should be vacated.

Our office will only do genetic testing for cases which have been referred to us by the Division of Child Support (DCS) (external link) for paternity establishment.  You can also call 1-800-442-KIDS (1-800-422-5437) for information about starting a paternity action.

Genetic testing results are usually available 10 days to two weeks after all parties in the case have been swabbed.