CONTESTED AND UNCONTESTED PATERNITY

Faulkner Legal Group, P.A., an Orlando paternity law firm, handles a variety of paternity related issues in the Orlando, Central Florida and surrounding areas as well as the State of Florida as a whole. As an Orlando paternity lawyer, attorney David A. Faulkner helps clients going through a paternity case know there legal rights.

DOES YOUR CHILD HAVE A LEGAL FATHER?

• A child born to parents that are married to each other has a legal father. Married parents and their child get all the rights and benefits of having a legal father.
• A child does not have a legal father if the mother is not married when the child is born. Legal paternity has to be established for this child.

HOW DO I ESTABLISH PATERNITY FOR MY CHILD?

In Florida, there are five ways to establish paternity:

• Marriage:  The parents are married to each other when the child is born.  If a woman is married when her child is born, her husband is the legal father of the child. They do not need to do anything to establish paternity. This paper work will be completed in the hospital by their staff. This is true even if the mother does not list her husband's name on the child's birth certificate.

• Acknowledgement of Paternity:  The unmarried couple signs a legal document in the hospital when the child is born, or later.  If the mother is not married when her child is born, the parents can establish legal paternity at birth or later by signing a form that says they are the parents of a child:

          At birth - In the hospital when the child is born, the unmarried mother and the child's father can fill out  
          and sign the Paternity acknowledgement form DH-511 before they leave the hospital. This is the quickest 
          and easiest way to get paternity established when the mother is not married. The child has a legal father 
          right from the start. Both parents must be there to fill out and sign the section in the presence of two 
          witnesses or a notary public. The man that signs the section is the legal father as soon as the form is 
          complete.  The hospital sends the form to the Florida Office of Vital Statistics so they can record the birth. 
          The legal father's name is on the birth certificate when it is recorded.

          Later - After the unmarried mother and child leave the hospital, the unwed mother and the child's  
          father can fill out and sign an Acknowledgement of Paternity form DH-432.  Parents can also get this  form 
          from their local Health Department, the Florida Office of Vital Statistics or the Department of  Children and 
          to add the legal father's name.

          NOTE: These two methods (in-hospital Paternity Acknowledgment DH-511 or Acknowledgment of 
          Paternity DH-432) cannot be used if the mother is married when the child is born.

• Administrative Order Based on Genetic Testing:  Paternity is ordered if a genetic test proves fatherhood.  The Florida Department of Revenue has the authority to establish paternity without going to court with an Administrative Order. The mother, the man believed to be the father and child must take a genetic test. If the test results prove that the man believed to be the father is the biological father, then the Florida Department of Revenue will issue an Administrative Order of Paternity and tell the Florida Office of Vital Statistics to add the father's name to the child's birth certificate. 

• Court Order:  A judge orders paternity in court.  A judge can establish paternity through a court order. The person asking for paternity to be determined files a petition for paternity to ask the court to hear the case and then a judge decides if paternity is established or not. In many cases until the paternity has been legally established the man is referred to as the "alleged father". Based on the evidence, the judge may issue an order that says the man is the child's father. A judge can also establish paternity in other kinds of court actions, such as divorce or dependency. In court cases:

            The parties must appear for the court hearing as scheduled.

            The court may order a genetic test.

            One or both parties may be ordered to pay for the genetic test and other court costs.

            If the alleged father was served but does not show up for court, the judge may choose to "default" him    
            and make him the legal father without him being there.

            If the mother and father agree to legal paternity before the actual day of the court hearing they can sign 
            a consent order that is adopted by the court as a final order.

            Once paternity has been established, the court can, if properly asked for in the paternity petition or 
            counter-petition, determine such critical issues as parental responsibility, time-sharing and child support.

• Legitimation:  The mother and natural father get married to each other after the child is born and update the birth record through the Florida Office of Vital Statistics.

 WHERE TO GET LEGAL HELP?

If you have a Florida paternity related issue you need help with, then contact Faulkner Legal Group, P.A. so that Orlando paternity lawyer David A. Faulkner can inform you of your legal rights.  Call today.