Paternity
If you have never been married to your child’s mother, it is extremely important that you establish your legal paternity and, along with that status, your parental right to maintain a meaningful relationship with your child. Attorneys at Vacanti Shattuck Finocchiaro Attorneys, our Omaha family law firm, are known by many as the “father’s rights” lawyers. That is a result of our longstanding work to level the playing field in the family courts.
Parental rights of the single father
As an unmarried father, you may have a friendly, informal parenting arrangement with your child’s mother. That, however, gives you no legal standing. Even if you live together as a family, until the court issues a declaration of paternity naming you as your child’s father, you have no legal right to request child custody or visitation in the case of a dissolution of your partnership or to designate a guardian for your child in your will.
If you wish to re-enter your child’s life after an absence or if you have never developed a relationship with your child, initiating a paternity action makes a strong statement about your intent to play a part in your child’s life.
Paternity and child support
If you are being named as the father of a child in a claim for child support payments, our attorneys will protect your rights during paternity proceedings. If you are the child’s father, we will see that the court issues a parenting order in connection with the child support proceedings, allowing you access to your child. If circumstances have changed since your original parenting decree was issued, our lawyers will handle your request for modification of custody, visitation or support.
If you are in the process of selecting an attorney to represent you in a paternity action, we invite you to e-mail us or call us at (402) 235-6070. One of our lawyers will reply to your e-mail or take your call and, if you are interested, arrange an in-office consultation.
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