Paternity is a contentious issue in some cases, and that goes for whether the presumed father was or was not married to the child’s mother. The news that a child they believed was theirs is actually not biologically their child can shake a man’s foundation. Having a child is to some men the greatest feeling in the world. They care for the child, play with the child, and develop a relationship. When news breaks that the child isn’t theirs, it can rip the floor from under them. Such a revelation often ends in divorce or severing of a relationship. Then they’re faced with a big question: should they pay child support, and do they have to?

biological parent

For some men who discover they are not the biological parent of a child, paying to support somebody else’s child is a humiliating slap in the face, especially knowing they were betrayed and perhaps misled by the mother of the child. But the relationship they may develop leads a lot of men to pay child support if only so the child they have grown to love and adore has all they need. Unfortunately, the law is not always on their side and non-biological fathers are sometimes required to continue paying child support even if scientific evidence indicates that they are not the father.

Common sense seems to dictate that responsibility for supporting the child should fall to the biological father, not the non-biological father even if he was married to the child’s mother. But the law seems to interpret your taking responsibility as the father as acceptance of all responsibilities, including child support. This is even the case when the non-biological father was led to believe that he was the biological father of the child, or had no reason not to believe as much.

Some states, like California, assume that when the mother is married, her husband is the legal father unless otherwise stated on the birth certificate or if circumstances would have prevented him from being present at conception. It may be easier to avoid legal fatherhood if the couple is not married and a paternity test reveals that you are not the father.

The issue is extremely murky to add to the unpleasantness of the situation. It’s best to seek the counsel of a family law attorney who will answer your questions and advise you of your rights. In almost every case, though, you must get a neutral third-party paternity test to establish that you are not the child’s father; home paternity tests are not considered admissible in court.

In the face of the current change from the family courts leaning mostly towards mothers in assessing child custody or support in a divorce, a large amount of fathers nevertheless still think their parental rights are put into a subordinate position. A lot of men neglect to recognize they are allowed the equivalent expectations, except not having a court order to safeguard their interests, they have no official or authorized documentation to apply their rights after a divorce is finalized.

 Diefer law helps to protect the  rights of Father’s in cities throughout the Southern California. For anyone enlisted in the armed forces stationed overseas and having family problems here in California, we are ready to aggressively represent you on your behalf.

 Flexible fathers involved in a divorce typically conform to settlement terms that can concede their parental rights relating to custody, visitation and monetary assistance of their child and further issues because circumstances vary greatly following a divorce. With many years in various family law cases, our legal office can help fathers in laying the foundation for thorough and official rights, which aid in using them to:

·           Acquire child custody resulting from substantial changes in a parent’s life

·           Put a stop to potential relocations from interfering your visitation privileges

·           Contest assertions of missing child support payments 

·           Stay away from prospective reimbursement of any state assist gathered by the child’s mother

·           Maintain the entitlement to inquire about divorce decree modifications

With no need for confirmation of your fathers’ rights supported by a expert divorce settlement, challenges afterward may cause possible loss of a certified license or identifying document that limits your means to take a trip.

Father’s Rights and Paternity

Although matters of parenthood sometimes surface when children are still young, issues can change. A plainly recognized fatherhood can assist single biological father get around losing their parental rights as your circumstances changes or your child’s. From addressing assertions of abandonment to demonstrating thorough child financial support, we can help defend your happiness along with your child’s future.

Contact us for a consultation to go over your needs with an experienced family law lawyer dedicated to assisting you and your loved ones.

Even if an unmarried father has paternity established and is listed on the child’s birth certificate, it doesn’t mean he has any custody rights. When seeking custody, you have to demonstrate that you’re committed to having a relationship with your child. You need to be involved and participate in raising the child.

A crucial element in these disputes is who is primarily taking care of the child now. The courts don’t rush into making drastic changes to the child’s lifestyle. However, you may win custody or at a minimum joint custody of your child  if it’s in the best interests of the child.

Some Tips to Winning Child Custody

1.  If a custody dispute arises, you should get it resolved through the legal process in a courtroom to get a custody order.  A custody order is a legally binding  custody agreement.   If one of the parents  violates the terms of the order  by denying visitation, not  bringing the children back that parent can be held in contempt  of  court; fined and punished.  The first steps to getting a custody order is to arrange a court date so you may get everything finalized.

2. Try to come to an agreement. The preferred method is to have an agreement .  If parents can agree on a visitation and custody schedule, the courtroom will simply accept it into a court order . If the opposing parent will not agree, you should go to the courtroom that you made an effort.  You may want to hire a child custody lawyer to help you work on your case.  The reason being is if you have a good presentation you will more likely to influence the judge and get your agreement accepted.

It does not matter if you are a non-custodial parent attempting to get consistent and uninterrupted visitation to your kid, or a custodial parent who wants information concerning your obligation to offer access to a non-custodial parent in California, contact Riverside child custody lawyer at Diefer Law, a law firm specializing in family law.

Many clients will call me to inquire about parental rights. Father rights. Grandparent rights. They want to know what rights they have and how they can enforce their rights.

Simply put, the theory of parental rights, whether for mother or for father, are rooted on the constitutional principle that parents have a right to raise their children. However, parental rights must give way to the “child’s best interest”. While a parent has a right to raise his child, the actual custody order or schedule will be based on what the court believes is in the best interest of the child. As such, the court’s concern is not with parental rights but with the child’s rights and interest.

Generally, a child has the right to spend time with both parents and California presumes that it is in the child’s best interest to have frequent and continuous contact with both parents. Hence, the court will create a schedule that furthers the child’s best interests.

Similarly, courts will grant grandparent petitions for visitation if the court believes it will be in the best interest of the child to continue visitation with a grandparent. Once again, the main concern here is the child. If the court has evidence to believe the child and the grandparent have a close relationship, the court may grant visitation rights. However, it the court does not believe there is a close relationship between a grandparent and a child the court can deny visitation rights since it might be detrimental to the child.

Therefore, in any petition for visitation or custody it is always important to keep in mind the child’s best interest. For more information on parental rights please contact one of our aggressive and caring attorneys. We can be reached at 800-589-9901 or info@dieferlaw.com.