From the day you first saw that positive indicator on your pregnancy test, you’ve been looking forward to being a mother — but you had no idea that you were going to have to go it alone. You expected your baby’s father to be part of the picture, but he was noticeably unenthusiastic about the impending birth.
When the baby was born, he took one look and decided that your baby didn’t resemble him, so he denied his paternity and walked away.
What can you do? Plenty. Your child has a right to the support of both their parents. Because of that, Florida courts make it easy to establish paternity through genetic testing. Hopefully, the father of your child will be accommodating and participate willingly in the testing process.
If he won’t, you may have to seek a court order for the testing. The state considers it important to establish a child’s paternity whenever possible so that there’s less possibility that the child will end up needing public assistance or being a ward of the state. Once paternity is established, it gives your child:
- Access to knowledge about their relatives and family history
- Inheritance rights if their father should die and leave behind any assets
- The right to benefits on their father’s Social Security record
- The right to financial support payments from their father
Once a court order is issued, your baby’s father would be subject to arrest, fines and even jail time if they would try to refuse to submit to testing.
If you’re concerned about protecting your child’s interests, take the next step: Contact an experienced attorney for legal guidance.
