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Title
Court orders to establish parentage
Intro
If your county has an open child support case
The child support office may:
- Order genetic tests to determine the child's biological father
- Ask the court to determine parentage and support.
If your county does not have an open child support case for you
- Either parent can ask the court to establish the child's legal father. See the Minnesota Judicial Branch Self-Help Center for more information.
- You can represent yourself in court or have an attorney represent you. The court may provide an attorney if you cannot afford to hire one.
- When determining parentage, the court may also determine custody and parenting time (visitation) and order child support.
- Either parent can apply for full child support services and have the county child support office help establish parentage.