Why a One-Night Isn’t Just a One-Night Stand

A brief, consensual sexual encounter between two opposite-sex individuals without a romantic or domestic relationship, often called a one-night stand, is typically not intended to result in long-term consequences. However, such situations can lead to unexpected pregnancies, raising complex legal and emotional issues that can last for decades.

Parentage Issues

In California, the biological father is not considered a legal parent if he and the biological mother are not married or in a registered domestic partnership when the child is born. The biological father has no rights or obligations until the legal establishment of parentage via:

• A signed Voluntary Declaration of Parentage (VDOP) – This does not require a court appearance. Both parents usually sign this form at the hospital when the child is born if they agree on the biological father’s identity.
• File a Parentage Action with the Family Law Court – If parentage is disputed, either party can petition the court. This petition can mandate genetic testing (request a court-ordered DNA test) to confirm the biological father.

The court must establish parentage before it can recognize the biological father as a legal parent under California Family Law and grant parental rights. Additionally, a court order is the only way to terminate a legal parent’s parental rights.

Child Support

Once the court establishes parentage, the next legal concern is often financial, child support.

Both parents are legally required to support the child regardless of their intent to have the child or their relationship status. Courts will determine the monthly child support amount by using the XSpouse or a similar calculator, which requires inputting information such as each parent’s income, time-sharing custodial percentages with the child, and other relevant expenses.  

A California family law court does not hold the biological father responsible for child support unless the father is deemed a legal parent. To hold a biological father responsible, the biological mother or the state must bring a parentage action to establish parentage.

After the court establishes parentage, it can order child support retroactively to the date of filing of the Petition, which means the father may have to catch up on child support payments.

Custody and Visitation

Either parent can ask the court for custody or visitation after they establish parentage. In California, types of custody include:

• Legal Custody – Refers to the parent who makes important decisions for the child, such as those regarding education and healthcare. Joint legal custody is when both parents share the right and responsibility to make these decisions. Sole legal custody means only one does.
• Physical Custody – Describes who a child lives with and who has the day-to-day responsibility for care.
• Visitation – Refers to the time a non-custodial parent spends with a child, as defined by a Court order or Parenting Plan.

Both parents have the same rights and can decide for their child until a court order is issued that says otherwise. The court will rule in the child’s best interest (Family Code Section 3011) in making their initial custodial order, regardless of the situation regarding their conception.

California courts generally favor joint custody if both parents are deemed fit and the Courts may require the creation of a parenting plan.

Existing Marriage

The legal situation becomes more complex if the biological mother is married to someone else at the time of conception or birth. Not only is divorce strenuous due to California community property laws, but California law also uses the “marital presumption” to protect the family unit.

The law presumes that when a married woman gives birth, the child is her husband’s if they live together when the child is born, and the husband is medically able to have children.

To challenge this presumption:

• A motion for a DNA test must be requested within two years of the child’s birth.
• The husband, wife, or in limited cases, the biological father, can file the motion.
• Even if the DNA proves someone else is the biological father, the court may uphold the marital presumption if it serves the child’s best interest. After two years, the presumption becomes legally conclusive and cannot be contested.

Legal Name and Birth Certificate

Unless a VDOP is signed, the biological mother has full legal authority to name the child and decide whether to list a father on the birth certificate.

• Once the VDOP is signed, the hospital will add the father’s name to the birth certificate, and both parents can decide the baby’s name together.
• The biological father’s name on the birth certificate alone does not legally establish parentage.

If parentage is established well after the birth, the father can request a name change as part of the parentage action, or if the mother and father agree on a name change on their own, without Court intervention, either the father or mother and father can file a Petition for Change of Name. Like other rulings, the court will rule in the child’s best interest.

Inheritance

Once the court establishes parentage, California law grants a child from a one-night stand the same inheritance rights as any other child. They have a right to the parents’ bequests unless an estate plan with specific arrangements exists.

If the father dies without an estate plan or will, the child can inherit assets through intestate succession laws. However, if no legal process established parentage before the father’s death, the child may need to prove parentage in probate court, often through posthumous DNA testing.

Final Thoughts

Navigating the aftermath of an unplanned pregnancy from a one-night stand can overwhelm either person. Whether it involves child support, custody rights, or divorce proceedings, there can be serious legal consequences. Concealing a pregnancy or misrepresenting parentage can further complicate matters for all parties, especially the child.

If you are facing a parentage issue following an unplanned pregnancy, early legal advice is essential. An experienced family law attorney can help you understand your rights and protect your child’s future.

Vanessa Soto Nellis and Nancy Martinez are Family Law Attorneys at Lewitt Hackman. Vanessa is a California Family Law Specialist.