The procedure and main points of establishment of paternity in Ukraine. If spouses are married at the time of the birth of a child, they are considered its parents by default. Otherwise, the legislator provides a certain procedure for acknowledgement of paternity in Ukraine, according to which a man applying for paternity must confirm in writing his voluntary consent to acquire official status of a parent. At the same time, the mother of the child must also confirm in writing the candidacy of the father. If both statements indicate the same person, then the establishment of paternity can take place in the registry office.
The volume of legal work on the establishment of paternity in Ukraine as well as child custody in Ukraine requires the participation of a family law attorney.
You can establish paternity in court at any time after the birth of a child. However, if the plaintiff is a man claiming paternity of a child born in marriage with another man, the statute of limitations is 1 year from the date of clarification of this circumstance.
According to the family code, the reason to believe that the person is the father of the child is any information that indicates the origin of the child, which is collected within the framework of the current civil procedural legislation. This information is divided into three types:
- information that the plaintiff and the child’s mother had lived together and managed the household before the child’s birth;
- evidence of the general upbringing of the child or the participation of both parents in its maintenance;
- conclusions of DNA tests, which indicate the high probability of the validity of the claims of the initiator of the claim.
Testing for paternity is quite affordable and popular procedure. If you want the results of the paternity test to be legally valid, it should be conducted in court. In this case, the court shall decide on the appointment of DNA expertise according to the request of the interested party. Such expertise is usually carried out by certified clinics or forensic examination offices.
According to the legislation of Ukraine, only the expert’s conclusion provided by the results of the genetic examination (DNA analysis), which was appointed by the court, has serious evidentiary value for the court. Tests and DNA tests conducted outside the judicial procedure may be taken by the court, but do not have the weight of the expert opinion.
Establishing paternity after the death of the father
In Ukraine, establishment of paternity after the death of the father is carried out by filing an application to the court. There is no statute of limitations for such cases. So the mother, the current guardians or the child itself, who has reached the age of majority, can apply to the court in the prescribed manner. This process is quite complex, as DNA analysis is almost impossible to carry out. The lack of expertise in biometric data significantly complicates the trial. Nevertheless, there are a number of other things that can act as evidence of paternity. For example, witness statements, photos and video materials, various written documents. Proceedings to establish paternity are often not directed at proof of the relationship, but at the restoration of the rights of the child inheritance, child support from relatives, pensions for loss of breadwinner, etc.
