Determination of parenthood
We obtain the information with which the father or mother of the child can be proven or confirmed.
Parenthood is determined in order to obtain information that makes it possible to verify or confirm the parenthood of a child in cases where the parenthood is not automatically determined by either childbirth or the marriage between a woman and a man. A child welfare supervisor of the wellbeing services county will determine the parenthood and it will be confirmed by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
Paternity can be acknowledged before the child is born at the maternity and child health clinic. In this case, the father will also become the guardian of the child after the paternity has been confirmed. Before the child is born, the father can also acknowledge his paternity to the child welfare supervisor of the wellbeing services county. After the child is born, the father can only acknowledge his paternity to the child welfare supervisor. If it is unclear who the father is, the paternity will be confirmed through a forensic genetic examination during the appointment with the child welfare supervisor. If a man does not want to acknowledge his paternity, or if the mother does not want to settle the matter, paternity can be established by a court of law. The child welfare supervisor plays an active role and has an extensive right to information in determining paternity.
If the child is born by means of fertility treatment, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency can confirm the donor of the gametes as the father of the child, if the man has given permission to confirm paternity and has acknowledged his paternity either in advance or at an appointment with a child welfare supervisor. If a female couple has consented to the fertility treatment by mutual consent, the consenting woman may also be confirmed to be the mother of the child in addition to the woman having given birth, if the paternity of the child has not been confirmed.
The custody, living arrangements, right of access and maintenance of the child can also be agreed at the same appointment with the child welfare supervisor.