A "parentage" action is a legal proceeding that allows unmarried parents to resolve issues similar to those dealt with in a dissolution proceeding.

Establishing "parentage" means establishing the identity of the child's parents. Once is done, issues such as child custody and visitation, child support, and injunctive orders may also be addressed.

A parentage action begins by one party filing a "Complaint to Establish Parental Relationship" with the court. The party filing the complaint is known as the "plaintiff" and the other party is the "defendant." Similar to a dissolution proceeding, a parentage action ends with a "Judgment" which will contain orders from the court relating to every issue raised in the case. Such a judgment may be obtained by default, by agreement of the parties, or after a trial.

Temporary orders from the court are also available in parentage actions. Once parentage is established, issues such as child custody, support and visitation will be handled under the same rules as they are in a dissolution proceeding.

Parentage actions do not always involve a dispute regarding parentage. Sometimes the parties will stipulate to the fact they are the parents of the child. If however, parentage is an issue in the case, then it must be handled prior to addressing other matters such as support and visitation.

California law authorizes blood tests in cases where parentage is disputed. The mother, child, and alleged father will be required to submit to these blood tests and the results will then be evaluated by competent professionals in the field. If a party refuses to submit to blood tests then the court has the power to resolve the parentage issue against that party.

The court will determine who is to pay for the tests themselves. In some cases where the parties are of limited means, the court can even order the county to pay for the tests. On the other hand, in some cases blood tests will be inadmissible because of a statutory presumption of parentage. If, for example, the mother in a parentage action was married and cohabiting with her husband at the time of conception, the child is conclusively presumed to be the child of the marriage.

This means in such a case evidence tending to show that the husband is not the father, including blood tests, will not be heard by the court. In rare cases this conclusive presumption may be rebutted in a separate action by the husband or wife within two years of the child's birth.

Similarly, a father who has voluntarily signed a parentage declaration at the hospital where the child is born may be conclusively presumed to be the father of the child. This conclusive presumption may also be rebutted in some cases if it is challenged within three years from the date the declaration was signed.

Finally, under the Uniform Parentage Act, any man claiming to be the father of a child may bring an action to establish his parentage of the child. Also, under that Act, an unmarried man who is alleged to be the father is a "presumed father" if he receives the child into his home and openly holds the child out to the public as his natural child.