Florida Family Law Attorney: Paternity
Nationwide, more than a third of all children are born to unmarried women, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. More and more couples raise children together outside of marriage. Without the legal rights marriage offers, both mothers and fathers can find themselves in need of legal help.
Fathers' Rights
An unwed father has a limited right to child custody or visitation unless he legally establishes the paternity of his child. Even if he and the mother are happily living together, he legally has limited say in how or where his child is raised. If a relationship falters, the mother can move away with the kids and the father has no order in place to protect against this situation.
At Tamara K. Holden, P.A., Family Law Offices, we help fathers establish their legal rights through paternity testing. We help fathers assert their right to participate in their children's lives by establishing fair child custody, visitation and child support agreements.
Don't wait until it is too late. Start the process of establishing paternity of your child right away so you can exercise your right as a parent.
Paternity for Mothers
In order to receive child support, a woman must establish the paternity of her child. We help mothers establish paternity as a first step toward obtaining a child support order. Promptly establishing paternity is important for mothers, too, because Florida law only allows you to collect child support for a specified period of time prior to the filing of the action.
Our lawyer will help you through the process of establishing paternity as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. To learn more, please contact Tamara K. Holden, P.A., Family Law Offices, today.
From offices in Largo and Tampa, we represent clients throughout the Tampa Bay area.
