All parents have certain rights and obligations when it comes to their children. The courts generally take the view that every mother and father should be allowed to have a relationship with their child, but that both parents should uphold the financial support that their children need. When parents aren’t married when a child is born, the father must take appropriate legal measures to confirm paternity in order to preserve the parental rights and obligations as the father.

Most paternity disputes arise from one of two situations: one parent has been denied his or her parental rights or one parent fails to meet his or her financial obligations to the children.

Establishing Fathers’ Rights for Sole Legal Custody and Physical Custody

When a father is not married to the mother of his child, and when he is not named as the father on the birth certificate, he does not have legal rights to custody of any type. This is a problem that can be very frustrating for fathers. Our lawyers have been remarkably successful in helping fathers establish paternity and obtain legal custody and physical custody of their children.

Help for Mothers and Fathers

Whether you are a parent seeking child support or a parent who has been denied custody or visitation rights, we can help you resolve the paternity dispute, as well as other related family law issues. Our attorneys can assist in filing either a Complaint to Establish Paternity or a Complaint for Custody, Visitation or Support.

• For mothers: When a child is born to unmarried parents, the mother has sole legal and sole physical custody of the child until paternity is established. When paternity is established, fathers can be responsible for paying child support. Child support is collected from the fathers through the Department of Revenue (DOR). We can assist mothers in obtaining orders through the DOR to ensure they receive child support payments. We advise that you speak to an attorney regarding the amount of visitation the father of your child if you are not married.Allowing the biological father to have time with the child can affect how much child support you receive and custody arrangements should your relationship not continue.
• For fathers: When paternity is established, fathers can have rights to custody and visitation as well as be responsible for paying support. Paternity is established through a DNA test. Even if you believe you are the child’s father, you do not have rights to anything until you legally establish paternity.

In conjunction with our child support and custody practice, we frequently handle cases where one or both parties are self-employed. We provide a thorough evaluation of each party’s actual income to determine the appropriate amount of support.

We Can Help With Your Paternity Case

Whatever your paternity claim may be, we can help. Whether you are the mother or father, we handle all types of paternity cases and can help you too. We invite you to call us and speak with an attorney. Share your story and learn how we can help you with your paternity case.