Marietta Paternity And Legitimation Rights Attorneys

Last updated on June 9, 2026

Paternity actions are often necessary when parents were not married at the time of a child’s birth, or when there is reason to question who the father of a child is, despite the fact that the mother had a legal husband at the time a baby was conceived.

If your child was born in Georgia and you were not married to the child’s mother within 10 months before birth or at the time of birth, Georgia law grants you no parental rights to that child. To gain legal rights as a father, you must establish or dispute both the biology of paternity and the legal status of legitimation.

If you have questions about paternity and legitimation, contact our firm. We have your answers.

Establishing Or Disputing Paternity In Georgia

If you want to dispute or confirm paternity or want to take a paternity test to establish parental rights, our experienced family lawyers can help. We are Hill Macdonald, LLC, in Marietta. You can benefit from our skilled attorneys’ more than 50-plus combined years of experience with handling all aspects of family law in Marietta.

We understand the seriousness of what is at stake for a child and his or her parents when paternity may be in question.

What Is The Difference Between Paternity And Legitimation?

Under Georgia law, paternity addresses the biological relationship between a father and a child. You can establish paternity through DNA testing, a court order or a voluntary acknowledgment. Paternity may create a legal obligation to pay child support, but it does not automatically give a father the right to custody or visitation.

Legitimation is the legal process that formally recognizes your status as a father under Georgia law. A legitimation order gives you the right to seek custody and visitation, and allows your child to inherit from you. Without legitimation, you hold no enforceable parental rights, regardless of your biological connection to the child.

How Do You Establish Paternity For Your Child?

Establishing paternity is a critical first step toward protecting your rights as a father. Georgia law recognizes several methods to legally establish paternity:

• DNA or genetic testing
• Voluntary paternity acknowledgment
• Involuntary paternity action filed through the court
• Georgia’s Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgment Program (VPAP)

Our Marietta paternity attorneys can help you identify which option fits your situation and guide you through each step of the process.

How Do You Dispute Paternity For Your Child?

If you believe a child attributed to you is not your biological child, you have the right to challenge that determination in court. Our attorneys can file a petition disputing paternity and request DNA testing to resolve the matter. If testing confirms you are not the biological father, you may petition to terminate your legal obligations to that child. The outcome depends on the specific facts of your case, including how long you held the role of legal father under Georgia law.

Timely, Cost-Effective Legal Services For Mothers And Fathers In Marietta

A single mother fights not only for herself but also for her child’s future when she seeks to have the biological father of a child born outside of marriage made responsible for the support of that child.

Conversely, a father seeks legitimation to be recognized as a child’s legal father, as if he and the mother had been married at the time of the child’s birth. Recognition of fatherhood through legitimation opens the door to visitation and involvement in the child’s life and future. Without legitimation, a father might be required to pay child support but would be unable to be involved in the child’s life.

Marietta Delegitimation Lawyers

In some cases, delegitimation is the father’s goal. Though considered the legal father and payer of child support, a man may have reason to believe he was defrauded and tricked into believing that a child was his when in fact another man is the biological father. Under certain narrow circumstances, a presumed paternity can be set aside.

What You Need To Know About Legitimation

Many men who consider themselves fathers find out the hard way that they have no such legal status or standing. You could be cut off from your own child – even if you had previously been changing diapers and paying support!

Fathers who were not married at the time of their baby’s birth must take the affirmative step of establishing legitimation before their parental rights are recognized under Georgia law. The Marietta lawyers of Hill Macdonald, LLC, can guide you through the process and aggressively assert your rights in related legal proceedings.

We proudly help dads take their rightful place and step up to their responsibilities. Our attorneys handle legitimation and fathers’ rights in Cobb, Fulton and Cherokee counties.

Legitimation Is A Necessary Step To Official Fatherhood

When a baby is born to a married couple, Georgia law automatically recognizes the husband as the father. When a baby is born out of wedlock, however, the biological father is not automatically acknowledged. An order of legitimation bestows recognition upon him as the legal father, just as if he had been married to the mother.

What is “legitimation?”

Legitimation is a legal action. It is the only way, other than marrying the mother of a child, that the father of a child born in the state of Georgia may establish legal rights to his child.

Who may file for legitimation?

Only the biological father of a child may file a petition seeking to legitimate his child.

What is the effect of legitimation?

A legitimation order carries real legal weight for both you and your child. Here is what that order establishes under Georgia law:

• An order of legitimation creates a father-child relationship in the eyes of the law.
• It allows the dad to be listed on the birth certificate.
• It confers the child’s right to inherit from the father (and vice versa).
• It allows the dad to assert and enforce his visitation and custody rights.

No other legal process in Georgia gives you these same rights as a father.

My name is on the birth certificate. Isn’t that enough?

Only a formal legitimation will stand up in court as proof of fatherhood.

I took a paternity test. Isn’t that enough?

As crazy as it sounds, no. Without legitimation, you could be compelled to pay child support after a DNA test yet still be barred from custody.

How do I get a legitimation order? What does it cost?

The Petition for Legitimation must be filed with the court in the child’s county of residence. The basic filing fee is $80. If the mother does not acknowledge the petition, she must be served papers by the sheriff at $25 per address until service is successful.

How long does legitimation take?

The timeline for your case depends largely on whether the mother agrees to the petition. Several factors can affect how long the legitimation process takes:

• If the mother consents to the legitimation, the two of you can sign a document that may be presented to the court for approval immediately. Depending upon the court’s workload, this may take a few days.
• If the mother or another “father” disputes the legitimation, the opposing party must be served with process. Discovery may or may not be required. Eventually, it may be necessary to have a hearing on the issue. How long this takes will be determined by the specific facts of the case and how each side responds during the litigation process.
• If custody is at issue in a contested legitimation action, it will probably have the effect of making the action more complicated and making it last longer.

Our attorneys have more than 50 combined years of family law experience and are prepared to handle legitimation cases of any complexity.

Contact Hill Macdonald, LLC, Located In Marietta

Evening And Weekend Appointments By Request At Hill Macdonald, LLC, we are sensitive to the need to bring about a decisive, timely and cost-effective resolution to paternity cases. Allow us to guide you swiftly through DNA testing and other procedures that will result in a determination of paternity for your child – whether you are the father or mother, and whether you are pursuing or contesting a paternity claim. Contact our Marietta paternity and legitimation attorneys online today to schedule your initial consultation. You may also call us at 770-679-2177.