Winter Park Paternity Attorney
Florida Family Law Attorney Providing Services to Clients in Paternity Cases in Winter Park
Whether you are a mother who is seeking to establish paternity in order to require the biological father of your child to provide financial support and to share in parental responsibilities, or you are a father who wants to establish paternity in order to have parental rights in the state of Florida, an experienced Winter Park paternity attorney at our firm can help.
Paternity, or parentage, refers to a practice of determining the child’s legal father in cases where the biological father is unclear. In most cases, one of the parents needs to establish paternity when the two parents are not married and have a child together. We want to provide you with more information about paternity law in Florida and how the process of establishing paternity works.
What is Paternity in Winter Park?
Paternity refers to a father’s legal child. Under Florida law, the proceedings for determination of paternity can be commenced by any of the following:
- Any woman who is pregnant or has a child;
- Any man who has reason to believe he is the father of a child; or
- Any child.
Establishing Paternity in Winter Park
How is paternity established in Winter Park, Florida? There are a handful of different ways that paternity can be established under Florida law for a child who is “born out of wedlock”:
- Both the mother and putative father can sign an acknowledgement of paternity, which is also known as an affidavit acknowledging paternity or a stipulation of paternity (which may require notarization and/or at least two witnesses);
- File a petition to establish paternity and have the court issue a paternity judgment.
When the court determines paternity, it typically does so by ordering a blood test or a DNA test to confirm whether the putative father is the child’s biological father. If the blood or DNA test shows that the putative father most likely is the biological father based on the evidence, then that man has legal rights and responsibilities of a parent. To be clear, when a child is born when the parents are married, there is no need to establish paternity. The courts assume that the husband is the legal father of the child.
Legal Rights and Responsibilities After Establishing Paternity in Winter Park
Once paternity is established, the father has both rights and responsibilities under Florida law. The father will have the right to time-sharing with the child if the court determines that it is in the best interests of the child, and the father also will be responsible for financial support of the child through Florida’s child support laws.
Contact a Winter Park Paternity Lawyer
Are you a mother who is seeking to establish paternity in order to ensure that the father makes child support payments? Are you a father who is seeking to establish paternity in order to have rights when it comes to your child’s upbringing? A dedicated Winter Park paternity lawyer at our firm can get started on your case today. Contact The Troum Law Firm, P.A. for more information about how we can assist you.
