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(801) 254-9450 (801) 254-9450 A child deserves a healthy relationship with each parent and legal recognition of both. Many fathers want to share custody and visitation with their children, but must contend with proving paternity if they are not married to the mother of their children.
Paternity involves establishing a father’s identity, which also helps family law attorneys address critical custody and support issues for families. A Midway paternity lawyer from Carr | Woodall could help you understand what this means and how to pursue a paternity order.
When a married couple has a child, Utah law presumes paternity and does not require further testing. For an unmarried couple, however, a biological father must establish paternity to gain legal or physical custody of their child. A mother also must have the father establish paternity before a court can issue child support orders for their financial care.
In Midway, it is important to determine paternity with the help of an attorney to ensure that both parents contribute economically to their child’s upbringing. The state can require a noncustodial parent to pay support to the custodial parent under the child support calculation guidelines in Utah Code § 81-6-3. Courts evaluate the incomes of both parents to create a child support order once you establish paternity.
Paternity also establishes parental responsibilities for the biological father. Once you demonstrate paternity, we can help address child custody.
Other benefits of paternity include a child’s rights to inherit from the father’s estate, access to the father’s health insurance or veteran’s benefits, and the father’s ability to access his child’s medical information. Establishing paternity strengthens the bonds between a child and father, which is essential for a child’s growth and development.
When parents are unmarried, state law does not presume paternity. Initially, a mother has sole legal and physical custody until courts establish paternity. Fathers can prove paternity in three main ways.
Through this approach, courts can decide whether a man is the child’s legal father. This is more typical when parties dispute paternity.
Through the state’s Office of Recovery Services, parents can obtain DNA testing to prove paternity. Genetic testing is highly dependable, and the court system gives it significant weight.
Parents can sign acknowledgements of paternity and add the father’s name to the child’s birth certificate at birth. Hospitals and birthing facilities typically offer unmarried parents VDP forms if they are both over the age of 18.
Regardless of the method to establish paternity, a knowledgeable Midway fatherhood and custody attorney could help you understand your legal options at every stage.
Establishing paternity is important for mothers, fathers, and their children to ensure they are always supporting what is in the children’s best interest. To learn more about the legal issues and steps involved, contact a Midway paternity lawyer at Carr | Woodall today to schedule a consultation.