Blog Category | Paternity
Your relationship with your ex is (to say the least) difficult. Among other things, you’ve discovered that they were having affairs throughout your relationship. While they claim that the baby they just had is yours, you aren’t so sure. Naturally, you want clarity. You want the satisfaction of having the...
A divorce takes its toll on the entire family. Naturally, it is often the children who are the main concern of both parents as well as the courts. However, there are some misconceptions about the impact of divorce on men and the role they play after a separation. It’s important...
Your rights as a father in Florida are different in certain situations than in others. You have the best legal protections when the mother of your child is also your spouse. Married men are typically automatically included on a child’s birth certificate when the mother gives birth and don’t have...
Whenever people think of child custody, they often associate it with the child’s physical presence. However, there is more to it than having the child with you. Parental responsibility, often referred to as legal custody in some quarters, is an often overlooked aspect of most custody cases, yet it is...
It can be difficult to handle the news that someone you had a relationship with was married. What may be even harder to reconcile with is the news that they’re having a child who could, realistically, be yours. If the mother of a child who is possibly yours is married,...
It is probably every man’s worst nightmare. After years of a relationship, the mother of their child tells him that she had been unfaithful and the child was definitely not his. That bombshell announcement could devastate the father and permanently alter his relationship with not just the mother but also...
Only the mother is legally recognized as a biological parent when she gives birth to the child for an unmarried couple. The father is momentarily left out of the picture until paternity can be established. It means that even if you are the child’s biological father, you do not have...
Married fathers have it easy when it comes to paternity. They don’t have to take any special steps at all because the state of Florida just assumes they are the father. However, regardless of how long you have been with the mother of your child, paternity isn’t that simple if...
As a father of a child with someone who you are no longer dating, it’s important that you do establish paternity. The reality is that if you do not, you will have little or no control over what the mother of your child does and when you see your child....
If you are told that you’re the father of a child, you may want to ask for a DNA test. A DNA test is accurate around 99% of the time when the samples are untainted and a professional test is performed. There are times when these tests could be inaccurate,...
When a man is told that he is the father of a child, he may not be sure that he really is. In that case, it makes sense for him to request a DNA test to verify if he is or is not related to the baby. Sometimes, men don’t...
As a father in Florida, you may have to assert your rights if you did not marry the mother of your child before their birth. Married fathers have a presumption of paternity, meaning they are automatically included on the birth certificate. However, fathers not married to the mothers of their...
You and your child’s father don’t exactly see eye-to-eye, and you’d prefer that they have nothing to do with your child’s upbringing. Can you cut the father out of your child’s life entirely by asking the court to terminate his parental rights? Maybe. The answer to your question will depend...
Breakups can be hard on multiple levels. They’re particularly troubling when finances, living arrangements and kids are involved, however. The latter can be even more challenging to cope with if you’ve never formalized your child’s paternity. You may find yourself in a power struggle with your co-parent, with your child...
As a father to an unborn child with a woman to whom you are not married, it’s important that you establish your rights. You may want to have a DNA test to prove that you’re the father of the child, and that’s fine to do. Until you’re sure you’re the...
In many paternity cases, a man and a woman both know about the pregnancy. The only issue is resolving any questions about paternity. If paternity is in doubt or there may be multiple potential fathers, a paternity test can help determine who has the legal obligation and rights associated with...
We live in a modernized world in which not all couples choose to marry before starting a family. However, like married couples, those who remain unwed still experience breakups that can threaten the entire family. When unmarried dads lose access to their children, it is heartbreaking and harmful to fathers...
When fathers divorce, they often feel like they are forced into a secondary role in their children’s lives — especially when young children are involved. You may feel like it’s better for the kids to remain solely with their mother — or you may believe that the court will be...
As a father, you may have concerns about seeking custody. In past decades, it was more common to see mothers receive custody. Now, you’re worried about bias against you as a father when it’s your turn in court. While bias against fathers is no longer a massive concern, it can...
You never thought your relationship was going to get to this point. Not only are you ending your marriage, but it’s grown incredibly contentious. Your ex wants to take your children away and has said that “you’ll never see them again” if they have their way. In fact, they’re now...
As a father heading toward a divorce, whether you filed for the divorce or your spouse did, you may be worried about losing time with your children. Many fathers are actively worried that the court system is biased against them and they fear a judge taking their children away and...
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...
If you work in a hospital, you may have struggled to nail down your schedule recently. However, there is one day that is sacred: Saturday is the day you visit your son. Seeing your boy is the one bright light that keeps you going. The only reason you agree to...
When you found out that your girlfriend was expecting, you were excited. You couldn’t wait to see your child. You went through everything with your partner throughout the pregnancy, from ultrasounds to late-night runs for foods she craved. What you didn’t expect was that you’d be concerned that the child...
It used to be that an unexpected pregnancy almost always meant that the couple involved would get married. As a social and cultural issue, people really looked down on the idea of getting pregnant outside of marriage and tying the knot as soon as possible was seen as the only...
One of the concerns that you’ve had for some time is that the child who is growing inside of your girlfriend may not be yours. You took a break from dating each other around the time that she became pregnant. There is a good possibility that the child is yours,...
If you’re a father, you may already feel that there is bias in the system that keeps you from getting custody of your children, whether you are unmarried or going through a divorce. You may think that despite claims about wanting equal involvement, the reality is that courts tend to...
Your divorce is in motion, you’re taking steps to protect your legal rights, and you’re looking forward to starting a new life in the future. But even though you’re leaving your marriage behind, your children will still be a big part of your life. Co-parenting is a whole new world,...
When people talk about custody and visitation arrangements, they almost always do so in the context of a marriage. However, you don’t have to be married to the mother of your children to want to play a role in their lives. As an unmarried father living in Florida, you have...
Modern society seems to put a lot more emphasis on the role of a mother’s support and affection than a father’s love. Although custody determinations in Florida generally don’t consider the gender of the parents, internal bias could influence some people to think that the role of the mother is...
It can be hard to raise a child between homes. Whether you were married before and got a divorce or you and your child’s other parent have never been an official couple, the reality remains that having a child you both have to raise can be complex. You both have...
As an unmarried couple, it’s easy for you and your partner to separate. You don’t have to go through all the legal challenges you would if you were married, making it easy to walk away if things aren’t working out. That’s what you did when you and your girlfriend were...
As a father, it’s important that you have the right to see your children and to care for them. You deserve to be a part of their lives as they grow. You also have a responsibility to provide for them. To do that, you’ll need to establish your parental rights....
You have an informal agreement with the mother of your child on visitation, and everything is working out. There hasn’t been a need for testing so far, and you don’t see a need to change now. But establishing paternity might provide significant bonuses for you and your child. Establishing the...
