Multi-State Paternity Attorneys at Stange Law Firm
According to recent data, approximately 40 percent of all children born in the United States are born out of wedlock. Sometimes, unmarried parents are in a relationship that ends. In other cases, the parents may have never been in a committed relationship.
Either way, there is perhaps no more contentious area than paternity and child custody. When custody and child support issues involve non-married couples, the situation is often murky to most people, leaving parties on both sides frustrated and confused about how to resolve the issue fairly and in the child’s best interests.
The reality is that unmarried parents in these cases often end up filing and/or litigating a paternity case under the Uniform Parentage Act. In these cases, courts can determine paternity, child custody-related issues, and child support. This can result in unmarried parents receiving a parenting plan or custody schedule just like married parents who went through a divorce.
Work to Resolve Tough Child Custody Issues Without Costly Litigation
In some cases involving non-married parents and custody, there is usually a middle ground that can be reached through skillful, resourceful negotiations. In other cases, the case becomes contested (just like a divorce), and the judge has to rule on the matter after a trial.
When it comes to custody matters, many judges expect parties to do everything possible to alleviate animosity and work toward a reasonable solution. Stange Law Firm, PC, has earned respect among legal and social service professionals, and judges know that I put the child’s welfare first. If your case turns out to be contested, Stange Law Firm, PC, can help you as well.
If you are an unmarried parent involved in a child custody dispute, Stange Law Firm, PC is ready to help. We provide advocacy for clients involved in all types of custody matters, including:
- Paternity and father’s rights issues: Even when the father is on the birth certificate, they still do not have enforceable custody rights. A paternity case can help ensure that happens.
- Child support issues for non-married parents: By filing a paternity case, the parties can enter an order as to child support.
- Parenting schedules and enforcement: In a paternity case, parents can end up with a parenting plan or custody schedule, just as divorcing parents do.
- Contempt and enforcement: After a parenting plan and child support order are put in place, as with divorcing parents, parties must comply with these judgments and orders.
- DNA Testing: In some cases, the father’s paternity is disputed. Through a paternity case, paternity testing can take place to ensure that it is established who is the biological father.
Other Important Reasons to Establish Paternity
Typically, paternity must be established for a child to receive these benefits from his or her father. Another major advantage of establishing paternity for a child is the right it gives the child to financial support from the father: unless paternity is established, the father is not legally obligated to provide support. Even if the natural father of a child is presently forthcoming with support, securing the child’s legal right to future support can be extremely important should circumstances change.
There are also medical reasons to establish paternity. Doctors need to be aware of the father’s medical history to properly gauge the inherited conditions that may affect a child’s health. In addition, health problems may cause a child to need blood transfusions or tissue transplants from a compatible donor; knowing the identity of the father with certainty is important in order to find compatible relatives, especially for children with rare blood or tissue types. Finally, establishing paternity can benefit children emotionally. Knowing who both their parents are can help give kids a sense of identity and belonging.
Furthermore, fathers who are involved in their children’s lives often have a huge positive impact on school performance, behavior, and other measures of a child’s well-being – officially establishing paternity can help foster meaningful father-child relationships. The simplest way for unmarried parents to establish paternity in many states is for both of them to sign an affidavit acknowledging paternity. Ideally, this legal form is completed at the hospital when the baby is born: if both parents complete it before the hospital files the child’s birth certificate, the man officially becomes the child’s legal father and his name is added to the birth certificate.
Genetic testing is relatively simple and noninvasive: a tissue sample is collected from the mother, the child, and the alleged father (usually by swabbing the inside of the cheeks) and shipped to a lab for analysis. If the tests reveal at least a 98 percent probability that the man is the father, he is presumed to be the father.
Establishing paternity is almost always the responsible thing to do for the sake of a child. But fathers and mothers may have their own individual reasons. For mothers, it often means getting the support they need to effectively raise their child. For fathers, it could be an avenue to secure more frequent and meaningful contact with their children – or, at the other end of the spectrum, an effort to disprove biological relation to a child and avoid the accompanying obligations.
Contrary to popular belief, simply being on a birth certificate does not give a father an enforceable custody order in the majority of circumstances. If a father does not file a paternity case, a common scenario is where there is an administrative child support order put in effect against the father. Yet, while paying child support, the father still has no child custody schedule and the right to see his child or be an equal decision-maker. If unmarried men fail to establish their rights, courts also have the discretion to award back child support.
Contact Our Paternity Lawyers Today to Schedule an Initial Consultation
For more information on custody issues for non-married parents, contact our lawyers online or by phone to schedule a consultation at any of our convenient locations at 855-805-0595.
