Rule 48 Separate hearing on issue of paternity

If there's a question about who the father of a child is during a child abuse or neglect case, the court can schedule a separate hearing just to sort out that issue. This means paternity doesn't have to be decided during the main hearings about the child's safety and well-being. Instead, the court can set aside specific time to focus only on figuring out who the legal father is.

When the court schedules this kind of hearing, it must also let the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement know. This office gets involved because paternity decisions often connect to child support matters. Notifying them helps make sure everything is handled properly and that child support issues can move forward once paternity is established.