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Parentage (paternity) in California
For unmarried parents, custody, visitation, and child support orders start with one question: who are the child's legal parents. Virdix guides you through the official Petition (FL-200) and Summons (FL-210) that open a California parentage case, so you can represent yourself with a plain-English interview instead of a blank form.
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A parentage case answers a threshold legal question before anything else about the child can be decided by a court.
Rules that vary by circumstance, like rescission windows for a signed declaration or exactly how a marital presumption applies to your situation, are best confirmed with the California Courts Self-Help Center or your county's family law facilitator. For the full breakdown, see our guide to parentage in California.
Virdix doesn't file on your behalf, negotiate with the other parent, or decide what to request from the court. It's still your case, your choices, and your signature on every form.
Instead of a PDF and a court self-help booklet, you answer plain-English questions once. Virdix maps your answers onto Form FL-200 and Form FL-210, the official Judicial Council forms that open a parentage case.
If your parentage case also needs to address custody, visitation, or child support, Virdix guides you through requesting those as part of the same filing instead of starting over with a separate case.
California explicitly allows self-representation in parentage cases. Nothing about using Virdix prevents a one-time attorney consultation later if your case becomes genuinely disputed.
Ready to start your parentage case?
Virdix walks you through Form FL-200 and Form FL-210, question by question, and prepares the court-ready forms. Free during open beta.
Start my parentage case freeA parentage case (sometimes called a paternity case) is a family court case that establishes who a child's legal parents are. It's a separate legal question from custody, visitation, or child support: a court generally can't order those things for someone until that person's legal parentage of the child is established.
Parentage cases are most common for unmarried parents, since a child born during an existing marriage is usually already covered by California's marital presumption. If you and the other parent were never married and parentage isn't already on file through a signed Voluntary Declaration of Parentage, a court case is the path to establish it.
A parentage case is opened with Form FL-200, Petition to Determine Parental Relationship. The other parent is then formally notified using Form FL-210, the Summons used in parentage cases. Both are official California Judicial Council forms.
Yes. Once you've opened a parentage case, you can ask the court to also address custody, visitation, and child support as part of that same case, rather than filing separate cases for each issue.
No. California allows self-representation in family court, including parentage cases. The Judicial Council forms are built to be completed without an attorney, though a one-time consultation is always an option if your situation is complicated or disputed.
Yes, during Virdix's open beta, guided help preparing your parentage forms is free. Virdix doesn't replace the official Judicial Council forms; it asks plain-English questions and fills them out for you.
Virdix is a self-help document preparation service, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. If your case involves domestic violence or you fear for your safety, call 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.