Establishing paternity is important if a father wants to provide for a child and be part of his or her life. Ideally, when a father makes the decision to be in his child’s life and build a relationship with him or her, they will be there to support them financially, mentally, emotionally and more. A father should not just be a financial resource.
It is true that the father should help out and pay child support if they are ordered to, but when they establish paternity, the child is entitled to much more than a monthly payment of child support.
Along with child support, after a father has proven paternity, his child can obtain the following rights:
- Social Security benefits.
- Health insurance.
- Inheritance.
- Wrongful death benefits.
Many of these benefits are important for the child to obtain, especially if their father dies. Of course, the child will likely be supported by their mother, whether their father is alive or not, but the child will have more benefits thanks to these rights. This is something that men should remember when they are not sure if they want to prove paternity of a child that they believe is theirs.
Even though children or their mother will want the child to obtain these rights from their father after they have established paternity, there are many other benefits to paternity being proven. Children should have both parents in their lives to provide for them in the ways they need. If establishing paternity will allow this to happen, it is important that anyone with a child step forward and prove paternity so they can be a part of their child’s life.