Paternity Actions in Florida
Paternity and father’s rights have become two hotbed issues in the national family law landscape. Fortunately, if you are facing one of these two issues, you can depend on your Pensacola, Florida paternity attorney to help guide you through the process. In some particularly acrimonious divorce proceedings, one parent will question the validity of the other’s paternity and may even allege that the divorcing father is not the biological father of the child incident to the marriage. If you are facing this situation, you have rights, which a Pensacola Florida paternity attorney can help you protect.
As advocates for father’s rights, we strive to achieve a parenting balance even during a divorce. If you were not awarded placement or primary custody of your children but seek to maintain an active role in their lives, we can help you achieve this through petitioning for additional visitation, unsupervised visitation, or placement with you. If you are struggling with child support payments because the amount is set too high in light of your income, your attorney can also help with this situation as well. Children enduring a divorce have a right to as much access to both parents as possible. If you would like to see your children more and need help with the process, contact us right away.
Some fathers find themselves in a situation in which the mother of the child is already married to someone else. Under Florida law, children born during an intact marriage are presumed to be the children of both spouses. However, if you believe that you are the biological father, you can petition the court for a paternity test to assert your rights over that child. This is known as the putative father doctrine and can help save the biological relationship between a father and his child.
There are other situations in which paternity may be a relevant issue. For example, if the father of your child refuses to pay child support because he claims the child is not his, establishing paternity using DNA testing can help you obtain child support. Conversely, a paternity test showing that you are not a child’s father can release you from child support obligations.
If you would like to speak to an experienced Pensacola Florida paternity attorney about your paternity issues, contact our office today at 850-470-0100.