Family Law

Your Trusted Paternity Attorney in Indiana

What Is at Stake in an Indiana Paternity Case?

Paternity is the legal and social acknowledgment of the parental relationship between a father and a child. Until paternity is legally established, an unmarried father has no enforceable rights to custody or parenting time — and a mother has no legal basis to compel child support. For the child, unestablished paternity can mean gaps in medical history, loss of inheritance rights, and the absence of a legal father on the record.

Paternity cases arise from several different circumstances. A mother may seek to establish paternity to secure child support and health insurance coverage from the father. A father may seek to establish paternity to assert his rights to custody and parenting time. In some cases, a party seeks to challenge an existing paternity determination when questions arise about biological parentage. Each situation carries permanent legal consequences for everyone involved — the father, the mother, and most importantly, the child.

Ziemer & Ziemer represents mothers, fathers, and children in paternity matters across Evansville and the surrounding counties. As an experienced family law attorney in Evansville, Jay Ziemer has handled paternity cases from both sides of the courtroom — a perspective that gives clients a clear-eyed view of how these cases proceed and what the outcomes mean.

Our Approach

How Ziemer & Ziemer Handles Paternity Cases

The Two Methods of Establishing Paternity in Indiana

Indiana law provides exactly two ways to establish paternity, and the path taken has significant implications for how quickly legal rights and obligations take effect.

The first method is a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity. Both parents sign a sworn affidavit confirming the father’s parentage. This acknowledgment is filed with the state and becomes a permanent legal record. Because the affidavit is permanent and legally binding, it should not be signed without a clear understanding of the rights and obligations it creates. An attorney should review the situation before either party signs.

The second method is a paternity lawsuit. Either parent can file a paternity action in court. Once filed, the court will typically order DNA testing to determine biological parentage. DNA evidence is admissible in Indiana paternity hearings and is the most accurate method available for establishing or disproving a biological relationship. The testing itself is straightforward and noninvasive, but the legal proceedings that follow are not simple, and representation matters.

The data points used to calculate child support in Indiana include:

- The gross weekly income of each parent
- The cost of childcare and daycare expenses
- The cost of health insurance coverage for the children
- Whether either parent has other children for whom they are financially responsible
- How the parents plan to divide their parenting time and custody arrangement
- Post-secondary education expenses, including college costs

That last point deserves attention. Child support in Indiana does not automatically end when a child turns 18. While a child is enrolled in college or post-secondary education, Indiana’s post-secondary education laws govern continued support obligations. Parents should understand those rules before agreeing to any support order.

Legal custody refers to the right to make major decisions about a child’s life — education, healthcare, religious upbringing, and extracurricular activities. Legal custody can be awarded solely to one parent or shared jointly between both.

Physical custody refers to where the child primarily lives and which parent is responsible for day-to-day care. Like legal custody, physical custody can be sole or shared.

Sole custody means one parent holds primary legal or physical custody. The other parent typically receives parenting time, but one parent carries the decision-making authority or the child primarily resides with one household.

Joint custody means both parents share legal or physical custody, or both. Joint arrangements require a workable level of communication and cooperation between parents. Indiana courts can order joint custody even when one parent objects, if the evidence supports it as the best arrangement for the child.

What Happens Once Paternity Is Established

Once paternity is legally established in Indiana, the consequences are immediate and permanent. The father becomes legally responsible for:

Paying child support in accordance with Indiana’s Child Support Guidelines
Providing health insurance coverage for the child
Contributing to healthcare expenses not covered by insurance
Contributing to school and post-secondary education expenses

At the same time, the father gains enforceable legal rights, including the right to seek child custody and parenting time. For fathers who want a relationship with their child, establishing paternity is the necessary first step. For mothers seeking financial support, it is equally essential. Paternity testing results in consequences that reshape the lives of every party involved — and those consequences do not reverse easily once the legal process is complete.

WHY NOT GO IT ALONE

Can Paternity Be Handled Without an Attorney?

Some parents attempt to navigate paternity informally, assuming the process is straightforward once a DNA test confirms biological parentage. The legal process that follows a paternity determination is where mistakes happen. Signing a voluntary acknowledgment without understanding what it waives, agreeing to support terms without a proper calculation, or failing to assert custody rights at the time paternity is established can all create problems that are difficult and expensive to correct later.

Indiana paternity affidavits are permanent. Challenging a signed acknowledgment after the fact requires proving fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact — a high legal standard that most challenges fail to meet. Getting the process right the first time, with an attorney who knows how Indiana courts handle these cases, protects everyone involved including the child.

WHY ZIEMER & ZIEMER

Ziemer & Ziemer: Experience on Both Sides of the Paternity Courtroom

Prosecution-Side Knowledge Applied to Paternity Cases

Jay Ziemer served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Vanderburgh County with specific assignments in the juvenile, paternity, and child support divisions. That experience is directly relevant to every paternity case Ziemer & Ziemer handles today. Having worked the prosecution side of paternity proceedings gives Jay an inside understanding of how the state builds and pursues these cases — knowledge that benefits clients whether they are seeking to establish paternity or defending against a paternity claim.

Representing All Parties in Paternity Matters

Ziemer & Ziemer represents mothers seeking to establish paternity and secure support, fathers seeking to assert their parental rights, and parties who need to challenge or modify an existing paternity determination. The approach in each case is the same: understand the full legal picture, move quickly when timing matters, and protect the client’s rights and the child’s best interests throughout the process.

Paternity Decisions Are Permanent — Get the Right Attorney Before You Act

Whether the goal is establishing paternity, asserting parental rights, or contesting a paternity claim, the decisions made now follow every party for years. Ziemer & Ziemer gives Evansville families the experienced, honest legal guidance they need before taking any step in the paternity process.