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Paternity is the legal establishment of fatherhood of a child. There are several ways that paternity can be legally established in Florida. Board certified family law attorney Michael A. Hymowitz is well experienced in handling even the most complicated paternity issues.
When a child is born into a marriage, the husband is legally accepted to be the father of the child. Due to spouses’ strong right of privacy with respect to their marriage, a non-spouse claiming to be the biological father of the child born into a marriage will be precluded in most instances from establishing his paternity unless the spouses consent.
Either the mother or the father can file a petition to establish paternity. One paternity is established, the court can also address other issues including custody (timesharing, parental responsibility, parenting plans), child support, medical insurance for the child and child care costs. In Florida, fathers and mothers have equal rights and responsibilities when it comes to their children.
We are often asked if paternity is established simply by the father signing the birth certificate. Clients are very often surprised by our answer, “Not necessarily.” The signing of the birth certificate can establish paternity only if the application for the birth certificate was done correctly.
Even if the biological father takes no action, the mother can still collect child support from the father by filing her own petition to establish paternity. At Hymowitz Law Firm we understand how important it is to single mothers for the financial obligations of their children’ fathers to established and enforced. We can assist mothers in properly filing their petitions and obtaining the correct amount of child support from the biological father. We can even obtain a court order for a DNA test to determine the correct father if that issue is in dispute.
In Florida, the unmarried biological father of a child may have no concrete legal rights to his child until paternity is established. In fact, if the mother denies knowing who the father is, the mother can put the child up for adoption without notice to the biological father. If an unmarried father wishes to protect his rights, he should immediately consult with an experienced attorney to guide him through the process of registering with the Putative Father Registry and pursuing his rights in court.
If a man finds out that he is not the biological father after he signed the birth certificate or paternity is otherwise established, a petition to disestablish paternity can be filed pursuant to Florida Statute 742.18. The statute describes in detail under what special circumstances and procedures the disestablishment of paternity can be ordered. Because this is a highly technical areas of the law, it is imperative to have an expert Florida paternity attorney such as at Hymowitz Law Firm so that your rights are not lost.
If you are an unwed parent of a child and you wish to enforce the obligations of the other parent and your parental rights, do not hesitate to call Hymowitz Law Firm where a board certified family law attorney can assist you. You can contact us at (954) 228-3002 or online with our “contact us” form.
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