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OIAS Home > DSER Index > Full Services > Paternity - Why is it important for a child to have a legal father

Office of Integrated Access and Support

Maine Child Support (Division of Support Enforcement & Recovery)

Why is it important for a child to have a legal father?

Each parent is important to a child's emotional and physical well-being. A child has the right to financial and emotional support from both parents. This support can include:

Identity: A child has the right to know and have a relationship with both their mother and father.

Family ties: A child has a right to know their family history. This includes knowing all grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Extended families provide a sense of belonging for a child.

Money: A child needs the financial support of both parents. Children who are supported by only one parent often do not have their basic needs met. The likelihood that adequate food, clothes, shelter and medical care will be provided for a child increases when both parents provide financial support.

Health: A child's healthy development may depend upon medical and genetic information from both parents. Health problems can often appear later in a child's life. Access to parents' medical history may save or improve the quality of a child's or grown child's life.

Other Benefits: A child has a right to benefits from both parents. These can include: social security, pensions, inheritance rights, health insurance, life insurance, veterans' and other government benefits.