Houston Divorce Lawyer Melissa E. Palmer

Houston Paternity Lawyer: Establishing, Defending and Fighting Paternity

Are you looking to establish paternity via DNA blood tests to secure child support payments from the child’s father?

Are you a biological father looking to assert your right to child custody, child visitation and other father’s rights?

Melissa E. Palmer is a highly qualified Houston paternity lawyer who can assist you with the complex steps of establishing paternity in order to collect child support or in order to obtain visitation and other rights a father is legally afforded. 

In today’s day and age, fathers are playing a more important role in the day-to-day lives of their children.  That’s why establishing paternity is crucial in securing a stable future for a young child.  Without legal acknowledgement of paternity, a father cannot seek child visitation or custody, nor can the mother legally request child support from the supposed father.  If the mother and father are not married at the time of the child’s birth and during the course of the child’s upbringing, filing a paternity suit may be the only way to secure a father’s rights to the child should the relationship dissolve. 

Additionally, filing for blood tests to prove paternity is the only way the child’s biological mother can be awarded child support if the unmarried biological parents have separated.  Without this indisputable DNA proof, the supposed father can walk away from the child free from financial obligations. 

In addition to blood tests, there are other ways for parents to establish, defend or fight paternity, including:

A voluntary declaration of paternity, where the father signs a declaration at the hospital upon the child’s birth.  Note: this declaration can be withdrawn within 60 days should the father change his mind or question his parental status.

In certain circumstances a person may be the legal father and not the biological father.  Typically, this is when a child is born during a marriage or with a certain time after the dissolution of the marriage.  There are certain time restrictions limiting a presumed father from questioning paternity.  This means that a court can order someone to serve as the legal father, even if that father may not have biological connections to the child.

Likewise, there are some time limitations in which a biological father must seek to have paternity established or acknowledge paternity or potentially forfeit his father's rights.

It is also possible to fight paternity.  If a court has named you as the legal father of a child, you have a very limited amount of time to file a motion that contests the paternity decision.  Be sure to consult a highly qualified Houston paternity attorney who can assist you with this, as the process can be complicated and must be done within a short period of time. 

If you are a father or mother seeking to file a paternity suit, you need a caring, experienced and highly qualified Houston paternity attorney who can assist you with both the legal and emotional trails that come with establishing, defending or fighting paternity.  A Houston paternity lawyer can help you establish parental rights to the child in question, which will help the child to lead a more stable life; additionally, a Houston paternity lawyer can help you deny any father’s rights to the child, which allows the mother to seek the true biological father.

For more information on establishing, defending or fight paternity, contact a Houston paternity attorney today.

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