HOMESTEAD Father’s Rights Attorney
If you’re going through a divorce or have never been married to the mother of your child, it can be hard to spend time with your child or actively participate in deciding for your child’s welfare. Fortunately, you can deal with any legal obstacles and establish your rights as a father with the help of our HOMESTEAD father’s rights attorney.
Our team is composed of lawyers whose in-depth knowledge of Florida family law has been successfully put into practice through years of exceptional legal service. We can help you create a solid bond with your child by establishing your paternity and protecting your rights regarding fair timesharing, visitation, and decision-making responsibilities.
On the other hand, if your concern is that you’ve fathered a child you believe isn’t yours, Miami Divorce Attorneys can also help you contest your paternity. We’ll guide you through all the necessary legal steps and handle the filling in and filing of required paperwork. Once proven that you’re not the biological father, your legal obligation to support the child will be stripped.
Regardless of your specific paternity concern, rest assured that our HOMESTEAD father’s rights lawyer will provide efficient legal service to make your legal battle less stressful while ensuring a favorable result.
Call Miami Divorce Attorneys today at (786) 321-9064 for your Consultation with a HOMESTEAD Father’s Rights lawyer!
Establishing Father’s Rights
Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity
Your rights as a father can be easily established in Florida if you sign the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity form. This will declare that you are the true legal father of the child. However, you can only sign the form if the mother agrees.
Once the form has been signed, you or the child’s mother can still revoke the acknowledgment within 60 days. This can be done if fraud or extreme force is used to convince either of the parents to sign. After 60 days, the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity will be final and binding and, therefore, cannot be revoked.
Court-ordered DNA Test
If the child’s mother refuses to sign the form for Voluntary Acknowledge of Paternity, your option is to file a petition for a court order that will acknowledge your father’s rights. Our lawyers can help you do this even before the child is born. However, even if the legal process has started, the final hearing will only commence after childbirth.
Once the petition is filed, the judge will order a DNA test to prove your paternity. If the test concludes that you’re the biological father, the court will then decide on legal matters that involve your child’s welfare and your rights as a father. This includes outlining the terms of child support, child custody, timesharing, visitation, and decision-making rights.
The Importance of Legally Protecting Your Relationship
There’s always an option to talk to your child’s mother outside of court and reach an agreement about visitation, financial support, and daily parenting tasks. However, this agreement will have no legal merit and gives you no right as a father in the eyes of Florida family law, leaving you with potential legal issues.
That is why it’s important that you work with our HOMESTEAD father’s rights lawyer at Miami Divorce Attorneys as soon as possible and secure all the legal benefits that will protect your rights and give your child a better life.
You are entitled to see your child and build a relationship with them.
Once your paternity is established, and your rights as a father are legally recognized and protected, your child’s mother will have to follow the court order allowing you to see your child. She can’t simply forbid you from being a part of your child’s life because of her personal opinions or probably unreasonable excuses.
Florida family law recognizes that having the presence of both parents is best for the child’s development. The court will always decide with your child’s best interest in mind, so if you’ve proven to be the biological father, you can trust that you will have a fair timesharing schedule that both you and the mother are legally bound to follow.
You can have a say in the major life decisions for your child.
After your rights as a father are established, you are legally allowed to make decisions on behalf of your child, given that it was under the decision-making rights granted by the court.
Florida family law typically awards shared parental responsibility or decision-making authority to both mother and father. However, the court will also designate a primary or custodial parent who will make the final decision if both parents disagree. Regardless, as a legally acknowledged father, you will finally have a say in important matters (e.g., medical, legal, education, and religious concerns or otherwise) that will affect your child’s welfare.
Your child will be eligible for the benefits of being your legitimate child.
Establishing your paternity will not only let you exercise all your rights as a father but will also let your child enjoy the benefits of being a legitimate child. They will be better provided for once due to your child support payments. They will also reap other benefits like health insurance and inheritance. More importantly, they will get to know you as a father and will have an emotional bond with you that’s crucial for their overall development.
In the end, acknowledging and exercising your paternal rights are as great for you as it is for your child. If you have your child’s best interests at heart, let Miami Divorce Attorneys be your expert counsel through the entire legal process.
Divorced Father’s Rights
If you were still married to your child’s mother when they were born, your paternity wouldn’t be questioned under Florida family law. You are automatically recognized as the child’s father. You will, therefore, have inherent rights to see your kids and take part in making decisions on their behalf.
However, following a divorce, especially a contentious one, your ex-spouse may decide that she wants to limit your contact with the child or even challenge your decision-making authority. This is why it’s important to work with an expert family lawyer from Miami Divorce Attorneys to ensure that you won’t be denied your parental rights and that your child will continue to spend as much time as possible with you.
A mediation will first take place to make you and your former spouse agree on a parenting plan. But if both parties can’t agree, we can help you draft your parenting plan and submit it before the court for approval. You should, however, keep in mind that the court will rule (in terms of child custody and child support) in favor of your child’s best interests.
Contesting Established Paternity
If you have any reason to believe a child is not biologically yours and wish to revoke your parental responsibilities legally, Miami Divorce Attorneys can offer legal assistance for the whole process. We will handle all the necessary paperwork and represent your case before the court.
The judge will order a DNA test once we’ve challenged your paternity. If it came back negative, you would no longer be the child’s father in the eyes of the law. You will have no more parental responsibilities, meaning you won’t have any timesharing or visitation rights. You won’t be required to pay child support anymore.
For more information about how contesting a paternity works under Florida family law, don’t hesitate to contact Miami Divorce Attorneys. One of our lawyers will be with you as soon as possible and answer all your queries about your paternity.
Talk to Our Legal Experts Today
As a reliable HOMESTEAD, FL law firm that practices Florida family law with great dedication and expertise, Miami Divorce Attorneys ensures that all our clients have their rights well-protected and that their families are being looked after.
So if you’re a father looking to be an active part of your child’s life or one who wants to contest your already established paternity, trust that our proactive lawyers will successfully address your HOMESTEAD father’s rights issues. Rest assured that we’ll legally guide you toward a favorable resolution where your rights are acknowledged, and your child’s welfare is taken care of in the best way.
Call Miami Divorce Attorneys today at (786) 321-9064 for your Consultation with a HOMESTEAD Father’s Rights lawyer!