Many families in America today look different than they did 50 years ago. People start families at all ages it seems, and, in many different ways as well – adoption, surrogates and “mixed” family situations can be found throughout the country. One of the most common scenarios that can present legal issues is unwed fathers who want to establish paternity.
In most cases the process of establishing paternity can be fairly straightforward, but there is no avoiding the fact that sometimes these types of cases can get quite complicated. Why? Well, because establishing paternity is usually just the first step in the process of a father exerting his legal right to start and grow a relationship with his child.
After paternity has been established, most fathers want to also establish child custody, visitation and child support orders as well. These orders will enable a father to have court-sanctioned time with his child, help make important decisions about how the child will be raised and ensure that the child has the appropriate amount of financial resources devoted to their upbringing.
Paternity, child custody, visitation, child support – these are all deeply personal and, sometimes, complicated issues to address. When the need to get a court involved exists, the importance of competent and skilled help cannot be overstated. At our law firm, we work with unwed fathers who want to make sure their rights are respected. For more information about how our law firm might be able to help in your case, please visit the fathers’ rights section of our website.