Establishing and Defending Paternity Rights
Paternity is an essential fact to determine in any family law or divorce proceeding. In order to enforce your right to receive child support you need to establish paternity. If you wish to assert your parental rights must first establish paternity either through the consent of the other parent or through DNA testing. At the Shimmell Law Offices, we represent both fathers and mothers during paternity disputes.
If there is a question about a child's paternity, contact an attorney, in Grand Rapids, Michigan who will protect your rights.
Mother's Rights
All too often, mothers must seek a court order to determine the paternity of a child before a father pays child support. Before a court enforces your child support order, it must establish paternity. We will assist you in proving paternity to the court.
Paternity is an important fact to establish even if both parents work together amicably. A court determination concerning paternity will guarantee that this question will not arise later on during a dispute. It is also important to know who will have custody of your child if you suffer an unexpected death.
Father's Rights
Children have a right to a relationship with their biological father. In order to obtain parental rights, a man must prove that he is the biological father of a child. Fathers need to establish paternity in order to get a custody order, parenting time order, and custody of the child if the mother dies.
Not everyone can challenge the paternity of a child. If a child is born during a marriage, it is presumed to be a child of the marriage. Only the married couple can challenge paternity. Any man can challenge the paternity of a child born out of wedlock.
In order to secure and exercise your rights as a parent, you need to establish paternity. To learn more about your Michigan paternity case, contact a lawyer at the Shimmell Law Offices for an initial consultation. We represent parents throughout Western Michigan, including people in Muskegon, Grand Haven, and Kent County.