Inglis Father’s Rights
Fathers who are divorced or never married to their child’s mother may face several legal obstacles when it comes to spending time with and making decisions for their children. That is why at Trinity Family Law, our expert lawyers can advocate for your parental rights to help you create a meaningful relationship with your child.
All of our lawyers are well-versed in how Florida family law works, including the guidelines for establishing your Inglis father’s rights. Regardless of how your relationship ended with your child’s mother, as long as you’re proven to be the biological father of the child, we can help you establish your paternity and protect your fair timesharing, visitation, and decision-making rights.
On the other hand, Trinity Family Law also offers legal assistance for men who are contesting their paternity over a child whom they believe is not theirs. We can take care of all the required paperwork and file the motion on your behalf before the court. We will help you terminate all the legal obligations that were wrongfully given to you.
So whether you want to become an equally active parental figure in your child’s life or you want to prove that the child you’re fathering is not biologically yours, let our Inglis father’s rights lawyer help you ease the process.
Call Trinity Family Law today at (352) 292-1703 for your Free Consultation with a Inglis Father’s Rights lawyer!
Establishing Father’s Rights
Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity
The most convenient way to establish your father’s rights in Florida is by signing a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity form. You can only do this with the agreement of the child’s mother, both of you declaring that you are the true legal father of the child.
After signing, either you or the mother will only have 60 days to revoke the acknowledgment if fraud or extreme force was used to coerce either party to sign. Once the 60 days have passed, the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity cannot be revoked and will be final and binding.
Court-ordered DNA Test
On the other hand, if you’re not on good terms with the child’s mother or she refused to sign the Voluntary Acknowledgment Paternity form, you can still file a petition for a court order acknowledging your father’s rights. Our lawyer can help you with this, enabling you to start the process even before your child is born. However, the final hearing will only transpire after childbirth.
If you file a petition, the judge will then order a DNA test to prove your paternity. If the test comes out positive, the court will then proceed to decide on legal matters concerning the welfare of your child. This will outline the terms of the child custody and child support arrangements, awarding you timesharing, visitation, and decision-making rights, all set up for the best interests of your child.
The Importance of Legally Protecting Your Relationship
Although you can always talk to your child’s mother outside of court and set up visitation schedules and division of parental responsibilities (financial and daily parenting tasks), you will technically have no legal rights as a father, and this could lead to several problems in the future.
That is why as early as possible, work with Trinity Family Law and establish your Inglis father’s rights to reap the following benefits:
You are entitled to see your child and build a relationship with them.
By establishing your paternity and legally protecting your rights as a father, your child’s mother can’t just choose to forbid you from seeing your child due to mere personal opinions and unreasonable excuses.
Florida family law favors having both parents active in raising the child, so once your paternity is proven and child custody and support arrangements have been made accordingly, both you and the mother are legally bound to follow the set terms. This means that unless the court sees a valid reason to change the order, you are free to connect with your child and be an active parent within your timesharing and decision-making rights.
You can have a say in major life decisions for your child.
One of your rights as a legally acknowledged father is being able to contribute to making decisions on behalf of your child. You can help your child’s mother in weighing the pros and cons of every choice related to major aspects of your child’s life. This includes medical, educational, religious, and legal matters that will have a significant impact on your child’s welfare.
In Florida, family law protects the right of each parent, so shared parental responsibility or decision-making authority will be awarded to the mother and father as much as possible. However, one parent will be designated as the primary or custodial parent, giving them the final say if both parents can’t agree on a decision.
Your child will be eligible for the benefits of being your legitimate child.
Once your paternity is legally established, your child will now be eligible for health insurance, inheritance, and other benefits that any of your legitimate children can get. These benefits don’t stop with the financial aspect as well. Your presence, your guidance, and the emotional bond you can create—all these can positively improve the overall development of your child, especially psychologically.
In the end, establishing and protecting your Inglis father’s rights is as much for your benefit as it is for your child’s. So to ensure that your parental rights are fairly awarded to you and exercised for your child’s best interests, let Trinity Family Law offer our expert assistance as you go through the entire legal process.
Divorced Father’s Rights
If you were married to your child’s mother when your child was born, Florida family law legally recognizes you as the father. Your paternity won’t be in question, and you’ll have inherent rights to be with your kids and participate in the decision-making on their behalf.
However, in the event of a divorce, especially if it’s contentious, your ex-spouse may want to limit your contact with your children or even contest your decision-making authority. This is why it’s important to acquire the service of our expert father’s rights lawyer to help you protect and exercise your rights during and after the divorce proceeding.
If you and your ex-spouse can’t agree on a parenting plan even after mediation, we can draft your parenting plan and represent you before the court as we wait for the judge’s ruling or approval. Keep in mind, though, that the primary goal of the court is to set the terms of child custody and child support in a way that best benefits the children involved.
Contesting Established Paternity
Trinity Family Law also handles cases where men seek to contest their established paternity. If you have reason to believe that you’ve been fathering a child that is not actually biologically yours, we can always represent you before the court as we challenge your paternity.
The judge will order a DNA test, and if it comes back negative, you will no longer be recognized by the law as the child’s father. This means that all previous parental responsibilities that you’ve been doing will be terminated, stripping you of your timesharing, visitation, and custody rights. You will, of course, no longer be required to provide child support payments as well.
For complete guidelines on how you can contest your paternity in Florida, talk to our Inglis, FL father’s rights lawyer today. We’ll gladly assess your case and give you an idea of how your specific case will turn out.
Let’s Talk Now – Free Consultation
At Trinity Family Law, we share the goal of Florida family law when it comes to preserving healthy connections between children and their parents. It is a myth that mothers are naturally favored to have sole custody since, according to state family law, parenting time and parental responsibilities should be fairly divided between the mother and father as long as it’s feasible and serves the child’s best interests.
Our job as your lawyers is to advocate for your father’s rights, helping you establish your paternity and ensuring that you have an appropriate share of parenting time and decision-making authority. This, of course, after proving to the judge that your ability and willingness to become an active parent who provides for your child’s needs will be best for your child’s welfare and development.
Call Trinity Family Law today at (352) 292-1703 for your Free Consultation with a Inglis Father’s Rights lawyer!