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Paternity Cases & Hyphenated Last Names

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Paternity Cases & Hyphenated Last Names

When two individuals decide to have a child out-of-wedlock and they decided to split, a paternity case is inevitable. A paternity case is what many attorneys call either a child custody or support case between two individuals who are not married. In both of these cases, the court must decide what parent gets physical and legal custody of the minor child. The court need to know on what days of the week the child will be with either parent. Whereas legal custody, the court has to make a decision on who gets to make the important decisions regarding how the child is raised. The court also decides how child support is going to work. As in, who is paying the child support to who? Also, who is going to be paying for the child’s health care, education, and extracurricular costs, and in what percentages? Another issue in many cases is deciding what the last name is going to be for the minor child. Does the child get the last name of the father or of the mother? There is a general rule, however: the younger the child is, the more likely the last name will be that of the father. This is especially true if the child hasn’t started school yet. But, if the father chooses to wait to file the paternity cases until after the child has started school, or the court is not very confident that the father is going to be in the child’s life, the court may find it in the best interest of the child to have the given mother’s last name.Given both circumstances and increasing compromise between both parents in a paternity case is to hyphenate the last name. The court will take the mother and father’s last names and hyphenate them together. Many courts are encouraging hyphenated last names to increase settlement in cases.

If you’re an unmarried parent, we have an article that may help: Children of Unmarried Parents.

Contact a Paternity Lawyer in St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Springfield, Columbia, Wichita, Topeka, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Omaha, Lincoln

If you are going through a paternity case in Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma,  Nebraska, and Indiana the attorneys at Stange Law Firm, PC can help. Contact us online or by calling us at one of our convenient multi-state locations.

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Our child custody practice focuses on protecting the wellbeing of children and the rights of parents. We handle issues such as:
Visitation
Often called parenting time, visitation is the amount of time a noncustodial parent spends with his or her child. We can handle a broad spectrum of visitation matters.
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Getting visitation rights means drafting a parenting plan that works. We can help.
Relocation with a child
Courts have continuing jurisdiction over child custody and visitation orders. So, when a parent wants to move, it is usually necessary to get the court's permission first. Failure to do so can put your time with your child in jeopardy.
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If a parent fails to follow a child custody order, it may be possible to take him or her to court to enforce the order.
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If you are found to have repeatedly ignored a court order, you may be found in contempt of court.
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When you need a court order changed, you can work with the experienced attorneys at Stange Law Firm, PC.
Custody Issues for Nonmarried Parents
Next to divorce actions, paternity cases (custody and support cases between unmarried parents) are among the most common cases in family law.
Parental Rights
Parents are often concerns about their parental rights, especially fathers in certain circumstances.
Family Access Motions
If you are being denied access to your children, you may want to consider a family access motion.
Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act
If you have jurisdictional issues involving your custody case, you will want an attorney familiar with the UCCJEA.
Custody Evaluations
If you have a complex custody case where psychological issues or abuse may be in play, you might want to consider a child custody evaluation
Hague Convention
If you are dealing with an international child custody dispute, and perhaps child abduction, knowing about the Hague Convention is often critical.
Third-Party Custody
If you are not the biological parents, in certain cases all may not be lost. You might have a right to third party custody in certain situations.
Fertility and Surrogacy
Fertility and surrogacy is a growing area of the law for those who want children.
Transportation
In some custody cases, parties might live far apart. This can result in difficult child custody cases with transportation at issue.
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