A lot of women have no doubt as to who the biological father of their child is, but this isn't true in everyone's case. There are also women who have a child and are unsure who is the child's biological father. There are many different scenarios in which this situation may be applicable — but the constant is that you had sexual relations with more than one man around the time that your child was conceived. Establishing paternity of your child can be an arduous process, but one that you don't have to face alone. Hire a family attorney who has provided this type of service to other clients, and you'll have an ally until the matter is resolved. Here are some reasons that establishing paternity is important.

It's A Step Closer To Getting Support

You might be raising a child as a single parent and be fine with that situation. However, you deserve some type of financial support from the child's biological father — which you almost certainly aren't getting because it's unclear who the child's father is. When your family attorney helps you to track down the potential fathers and have them go through testing to establish paternity, you'll learn who the father. Your family attorney can then shift his or her focus to working on legal documentation to get the father to begin paying child support.

It Can Help Your Relationships

There are men who are raising a child alongside a spouse or partner without realizing that the child isn't theirs. Some men might not mind being in this situation, but it can be difficult for others. For example, if your partner isn't 100 percent certain as to whether he is the biological parent, it may result in a rift between the two of you. Having your family law attorney help you to arrange paternity testing for your partner and any former sexual partners ensures that your partner will know the truth. Even if this information is difficult to hear, it can eventually lead to a stronger, more honest relationship between the two of you.

It's Beneficial For Your Child

When they're young and a father figure isn't present, children may wonder who their father is, but not ask. As they get older, however, such questions are more likely to occur. Telling a child — perhaps when he or she is an adolescent — that you're unsure of who his or her father is can be a highly unsatisfying response to this emotion-packed question. Establishing paternity of the child early on allows you to be able to properly answer this question when the child inevitably asks it.