Boca Raton Paternity Lawyer
Guiding parents through complex issues
The husband is presumed to be the biological father of a child born during a marriage. However, when a child is born out of wedlock, certain actions must be taken to establish paternity. The parents may voluntarily establish paternity at the hospital or after the birth by submitting the appropriate forms to the Florida Office of Vital Statistics. Florida courts become involved when one party refutes or asserts paternity rights.
The Law Offices of Schwartz | White represents mothers who seek to prove paternity and alleged fathers who seek to establish or challenge assertions of fatherhood. During our more than 50 years of combined experience, our Boca Raton paternity lawyers have witnessed the many changes involved in paternity testing and court procedures, and we guide our clients through the complex legal terrain.
Putative Father Registry
A man can assert paternity at any time prior to his child’s birth by filing a form with the Putative Father Registry. This step preserves the father’s parental rights. The state must search the Putative Father Registry before the child can be placed for adoption. Upon locating the father’s registration, the adoption cannot be finalized unless the court obtains his consent or terminates his parental rights for cause.
Genetic paternity testing to prove paternity
Genetic testing is an accurate scientific method of establishing paternity. To perform this noninvasive test, a nurse takes painless cheek swabs from the mother, the alleged father and the child. Our attorneys request that a court order the DNA test if the other parent refuses to acknowledge paternity.
Establishing child support and visitation rights
Child support and timesharing are not automatically established upon voluntarily acknowledging paternity, receiving a positive DNA result or obtaining an administrative or court order. Our lawyers in South Florida petition the court for fair child support or child timesharing rights.
Challenging paternity
The court may issue an order naming a man as the father if he fails to appear in court after receiving service of a paternity hearing. An order of paternity is difficult to reverse. We assist clients who have been named as fathers in challenging the assertions and in avoiding inaccurate or unjust child support payments for children who are not theirs.
Learn more from our dedicated Boca Raton attorneys about challenging or establishing paternity
To learn more about paternity testing and court orders, call the Law Offices of Schwartz | White at 561-391-9943 or contact us online to schedule an appointment. Our Boca Raton paternity lawyers serve all of South Florida, conveniently located off I-95 in the Bank of America Building. Free parking is available.
