Should You Ask for a Paternity Test? Depends . . .

If you are not sure about your child’s parentage, yes. There are legal reasons why a parent would have his or her child’s paternity determined as well as personal and medical reasons. Even if you are not looking to establish parental rights to a child, having a paternity test performed can help you determine his or her genetic health risks and give you peace of mind.

 A Biological Father is Not Always a Legal Father

 When a child is born to a married woman, her husband is automatically the child’s legal father regardless of whether he is the child’s biological father. If the mother is not married, the child’s biological father is not automatically put on the child’s birth certificate and granted parental rights. In order to be the child’s legal father, he must sign a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity at the time of the child’s birth or later in the child’s life.

 If the child’s mother and the alleged father do not agree that the man in question is the child’s biological father, one can file a paternity action to have the child’s paternity established by the court or the Florida Department of Revenue Child Support Services. Genetic testing is used to determine the child’s parentage.

 Determining a Child’s Parentage can be Part of Establishing Parental Rights to Him or Her

 In family law, the most common reason why an individual would seek a paternity test is to establish parental rights to a child. Having parental rights grants an individual the following:

●       The right to seek custody or parenting time with the child;      

●       The right to seek child support for the child;   
●       The right to cover the child with your health insurance and other benefits, like veteran benefits and Social Security; and                    
●       The child’s right inherit to your assets following your death if you do not have a will. 

Filing a Paternity Action in Florida

 A child’s mother, the child’s alleged father, a legal representative of the child, or the Florida Department of Revenue can file a paternity action to have a child’s parentage established.

When a party seeks to establish paternity through a court order, the court may order a genetic paternity test and require one or both of the parents to pay for it. In contrast, a genetic test ordered as part of an Administrative Order of Paternity through the Department of Revenue is free. In both scenarios, the final judgment establishes whether the alleged father is the child’s legal father. This does not automatically grant him child support or time with the child, but it does grant him the right to seek these things.

 Work with an Experienced Winter Park Family Lawyer

 Navigating issues of paternity, parental rights, and child custody can be tricky. If you find yourself entangled in these issues, an experienced Winter Park family lawyer can guide you to a productive solution. To get started with our firm, contact The Law Offices of Aubrey Harry Ducker, Jr., P.L.C. today to schedule your initial consultation in our office.

 http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0742/Sections/0742.10.html

http://floridarevenue.com/childsupport/Pages/paternity.aspx#fifth

 

I Am a Grandparent. What are my Rights to my Grandchildren?

As a grandparent, you probably cherish the relationships you have with your grandchildren. When an issue like your child’s divorce, death, or court involvement with your grandchildren’s lives threatens to sever this bond, it is important that you understand your rights as a grandparent and how to legally exercise them. Many people do not realize that grandparents do have rights to their grandchildren, such as the right to visitation with them and the right to adopt them in the event their parents’ rights are terminated. These rights also apply to great-grandparents.

 

Your Visitation Rights Depend on your Grandchildren’s Circumstances

 

Currently, a grandparent can petition for visitation with his or her grandchild if the following circumstances apply:

●       Both of the child’s parents are missing, deceased, or in a vegetative state; or    

●       One of the child’s parents is missing, deceased, or in a vegetative state and the child’s other parent has been convicted of a felony or a violent offense that poses a threat to the child’s safety or well being.             

 

If neither of the above circumstances apply, you cannot petition for visitation rights with your grandchild. If one of the above circumstances applies, you do not automatically have visitation or custody of your grandchild. You must first attend a hearing to determine whether the child’s parent or parents are unfit. If this is determined, a second hearing is scheduled to determine whether visitation is in the child’s best interest. Numerous factors are considered when making this determination, including whether visitation between the child and his or her grandparent would harm the child’s relationship with his or her parents.

 

Advocating for yourself and your Rights

 

Your lawyer can help you initially determine if you have grounds to petition for visitation rights with your grandchild and if you do choose to file one, he or she can help you demonstrate to the court why such an arrangement is in your grandchild’s best interest. Your strategy may involve showing the court how a disruption to your current relationship with your grandchild would cause him or her to suffer emotional or physical harm, that you are in good health and that you are physically capable of caring for a child, the relationship you currently have with your grandchild and its support by your grandchild’s parent, and/or whether you had an established relationship with your grandchild prior to filing a petition for visitation rights to him or her.

 

Work with an Experienced Winter Park Grandparents’ Rights Lawyer

 

As a grandparent in Florida, you have certain rights to your grandchildren. If you feel you are being unfairly shut out of your grandchildren’s lives, consider taking legal action to assert your rights to visitation with them. Contact The Law Offices of Aubrey Harry Ducker, Jr., P.L.C. today to set up your initial consultation with an experienced Florida grandparents’ rights lawyer. During your consultation, we will examine the unique circumstances you are facing and help you determine the right legal strategy for asserting your rights.

 

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0000-0099/0039/Sections/0039.509.html

 

 

 

Whose Interests Do You Represent?

As an Attorney, I am required to advance the interests of my client. Sometimes that doesn't appear clear from one perspective or another. Many, MANY times, the opposing party to litigation will try to convince my client that I am in fact NOT advancing their interests, but either I am working against them, or not working at all - claims of Dilly, Dally and Delay P.A.

What are my client's Interests? Perhaps a better description would be, my client hopes, dreams, and desires for their family. What my client wants, as the outcome of litigation is the primary "Interest" I must support. So long as my client is not seeking litigation just to harass the other side, or just to delay the inevitable resolution, I must follow the Client's direction.

A great note on Interests can be found here: http://be-fulfilled.org/post/2012/11/17/Helping-Clients-Understand-Interests.aspx

When you want the advice of an attorney, call me.

Don't be afraid to call; I assure you that many others have been in the same position and needed help. Bo Prosser likes to say the two most basic prayers are Please Help, and Thank you. I like that! Feel free to visit my website at www.aubreylaw.com and send me a message. You will be glad you did! Aubrey

Custody, timesharing, parenting plans

The Language of Divorce has been changed. No more are there Custodial or Primary Custodial Parents. Now each parent has a timeshareing arrangement intended to provide the maximum contact with the child and lesson hostility and conflict over who has "Custody" or who "makes the Decisions."

In reality, the Florida Legislature in attempting to lower conflict in divorce cases may have inadvertently muddied the waters for a little while. Reality suggests that parenting plans need to be precise to allow the police officer called to the scene to interpret with whom the child should leave the ball field.

All too often, conflict arrises when Dad took little Johnny to the soccer game and Mom arrived to watch. Since it is "Dad's visitation" he wants to take Johnny home to drop him off at Mom's house. Mom naturaly wants to take Johnny home to prevent Dad coming to her house, again, and snooping around who else might be there, or just hanging around hoping to "talk." This scenario plays out in many ways, but the bottom line is:

Precise Parenting Plans Prevent Parental Problems.

Visit me at www.aubreylaw.com for help with your Parenting Plan Problems.