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Paternity

Whether you are a single mother looking to locate the legal father of your child or a father looking to claim your parental rights, establishing paternity is critical.

Helping Unmarried Parents.

A paternity case is used to determine the biological father of a minor child when the parties were not married at the time of the child’s birth. More specifically, paternity is the legal acknowledgment of a parental relationship between a man and a child born to unmarried parents. Paternity can be established both inside and outside of the courtroom.

While the process of establishing paternity for a child may seem costly and daunting, our attorneys are able to utilize their expertise to provide sound legal advice to clients, while working on timely resolutions to the issue at hand.

Establishing Parentage.

Establishing parentage for a child born out of wedlock is essential as the child does not have a legal father until parentage is properly established. A man who believes he is the father of a child must establish paternity before obtaining child visitation rights, as well as joint or sole custody. So even if a father can prove he is the biological father of the child, if he was never married to the mother and has not established his rights, he does not legally have any rights or responsibilities for the child.

Benefits.

There are numerous emotional and other benefits to establishing a relationship between a child and a legal father. Said benefits include, but are not limited to:

  • The child knows his/her Father;
  • Access to information regarding family medical history;
  • Placement of the Father’s name on the birth certificate;
  • The child can receive health insurance from either parent;
  • The child can receive life insurance from either parent;
  • The child has the ability to receive Social Security or veteran’s benefits, military allowances, and inheritances.

Also, paternity must be legally established in order for a mother to receive child support payments from the father.

Let Us Help.

Whether you are an unmarried mother or father seeking assistance with child support, custody or visitation issues, the attorneys at Bill G. Hall, P.C. are experienced in handing all of your paternity-related issues.