Paternity Attorney Melbourne, FL
Establishing paternity is the most important step to securing parental rights and having an active role in your child’s life and future. At Platt Cole Russell & Simpson PLLC, our Melbourne paternity attorneys help mothers, fathers, and families navigate every stage of the legal process of determining paternity, from voluntary acknowledgment of paternity to DNA testing to administrative proceedings for contested genetic test results.
Without establishing paternity, no Florida court will address child custody or order child support payments. Additionally, unmarried fathers do not have parental rights and responsibilities without it.
Whether you need to establish, contest, or disestablish paternity, a paternity lawyer in Melbourne, FL, from our family law firm is here to protect your legal rights and your child’s best interests.
To schedule a free consultation with our Melbourne family lawyers, call 321-725-3425 or use our online contact form.
Importance of Establishing Paternity in Florida
Under Florida Statute 744.301, if parents aren’t married when a child is born, the mother is considered to be the sole natural guardian. As such, the mother holds all legal rights and obligations. This means the mother decides what’s best for the child’s life, but all responsibilities fall on her unless there’s a court order stating otherwise.
So, when parents aren’t married, the father of a child must legally establish paternity; he’ll have no access to the child’s life through custody or visitation rights or any legal right to help make decisions affecting his child’s education, healthcare, or any other parental rights.
Establishing paternity is legal recognition that shows a man is the child’s biological father. Florida courts require the man to confirm he’s the legal father of the child before any legal action can be taken. So, unmarried fathers must establish paternity in Brevard County to pursue any rights and responsibilities in terms of fatherhood.
The Good Dad Act (House Bill 775), effective July 2023, substantially strengthened the parental rights of unmarried fathers. Under this law, once the father of the child establishes paternity, both the child’s father and mother are recognized as natural guardians and share equal parental rights and responsibilities.
Who Can File a Paternity Action in Florida?
Florida paternity cases are governed by Florida Statute 742.011.
Any of the following parties can bring a paternity action:
- child’s mother
- alleged father (any man with reason to believe he is the biological father of a child)
- Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) (often when one parent applies for state assistance like Medicaid or TANF)
Paternity actions must be filed where the mother or the alleged father of the child lives. A knowledgeable paternity attorney in Melbourne, FL, can handle the filing, service of process, and all required paperwork.
How Determining Paternity Protects The Child’s Rights
Determining who the legal father of a child is is more than just establishing parental rights and responsibilities. Children often benefit in several critical ways.
Establishing paternity helps protect the child’s rights by the following:
- Providing financial support when legal fathers pay child support
- Medical support via access to the biological father’s health insurance and family medical history
- Providing financial support eligibility through Social Security, veterans’ benefits, and inheritance rights
- Emotional and psychological benefits of having a legal relationship with the other parent
- The child’s birth certificate/records reflect the accurate family identity
How to Establish Paternity in Florida
There are several ways to establish paternity in Florida. Florida Statute 742 governs the determination of parentage and the process of Florida paternity cases in detail.
Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity For Child Born Out of Wedlock (The Father Signs The Child's Birth Certificate)
Voluntary acknowledgment of paternity applies when both parents agree on the identity of the legal father of a child. When both parties agree, the mother and father of the child sign a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity form (Form DH-511).
The form is often completed at the hospital immediately after the child is born, but in certain circumstances, the form can be completed before the child turns 18. In both cases, Form DH-511 must be signed in front of two witnesses or a notary.
Once the form is signed, it creates a rebuttable presumption of paternity. Parents have 60 days to rescind the form through a written declaration (in writing). After 60 days, the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity establishes legal paternity that can only be challenged by proving fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact.
Simply signing the child’s birth certificate does NOT establish legal paternity if the child’s father is not married to the mother. The Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity is a separate form that must be completed.
Presumed Paternity (Husband is Presumed to Be the Biological Father)
When a child is born to a married man and woman, Florida law automatically presumes the woman’s husband is the legal father. This applies even if the man isn’t the biological father of the child. The man doesn’t need to take any legal action in this situation.
However, the presumption can be challenged with other evidence, like genetic testing results, if another party believes they are the child’s father or if the husband disputes he’s the biological father of the child.
In cases where paternity is established and you believe paternity testing will reveal this is incorrect, a Melbourne paternity lawyer can help clients understand their options and correct any paternity issues at hand.
Legitimation After Marriage (Mother Marries The Child's Father After The Child is Born)
When unmarried parents marry after the child is born, the husband becomes the child’s legal father through a process called legitimation. However, doesn’t mean the man’s name is added to the child’s birth certificate.
To update the child’s birth record, parents must complete the Affirmation of Common Child Born in Florida form (DH-743A) and submit it to the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics along with a copy of their marriage certificate.
Our paternity lawyers in Melbourne, FL, can help married couples establish legal paternity in Florida.
Establishing Paternity for Child Support in Brevard County
Administrative Orders of Paternity are used to establish paternity only to include legal fathers in the state’s child support program. This legal process for Florida paternity cases does NOT grant the legal father any custody or visitation rights.
Administrative proceedings through the Florida Department of Revenue establish paternity without going to court. They order genetic testing at no cost to the parents. If genetic tests confirm the alleged father is the biological father of the child, the DOR issues an Administrative Order of Paternity. It then notifies the Bureau of Vital Statistics to add the legal father’s name to the child’s birth certificate.
The administrative order carries the same weight as a final order in court, but it only sets parental responsibility for child support obligations. Legal fathers who want parenting time must still file a separate Petition to Establish Paternity.
Establishing Paternity For Child Custody Rights in Brevard County
When there’s a disagreement or when a father wants to secure custody and visitation rights, parents must establish paternity through legal action. One parent can file a Petition to Establish Paternity under Florida Statute 742.011. The court may order genetic testing, hear evidence from both parties, and issue a judgment that establishes paternity in Florida.
This is the only Florida paternity method that covers all aspects of the relationship. Our Melbourne paternity lawyer team serves as legal representatives for both mothers and fathers in contested paternity proceedings. If you’re seeking legal advice, contact our law firm to learn more.
DNA Testing in Brevard County Paternity Cases
Paternity testing plays a critical role in many disputes. Genetic testing is a complex process comparing the DNA of the alleged father to that of the child to determine the biological parentage. DNA evidence is highly accurate, typically over 99%.
In Florida paternity cases, at-home DNA test results can provide answers, but the DNA evidence isn’t admissible in court. For DNA test results to be enforceable, the genetic testing must follow a strict process.
Samples must:
- be collected at an approved genetic testing facility
- have documentation from the moment of collection through the final DNA test results, and
- be processed by an AABB-accredited and independent laboratory.
A court can order DNA testing as part of the proceeding, and if the alleged father refuses to submit to paternity testing, this can result in legal consequences, including a default judgment. Here, the court orders automatic paternity establishment for the man. The court can also hold the individual in contempt as a legal consequence.
The Florida Department of Revenue can also arrange court-approved genetic testing at no cost through the state’s Child Support Program when processing a paternity case.
How Paternity Affects Child Custody and Child Support Orders
In Florida, paternity must be legally established before any court orders are entered. This is required, not a technicality. Until parents establish paternity in Florida, courts have no jurisdiction to create timesharing orders or calculate financial support.
How Paternity Affects Visitation Rights
In order for a child’s father to seek custody, they must establish paternity. Once completed, courts address child custody through what Florida law calls time-sharing. Florida doesn’t legally use “child custody” or “visitation” in the same manner that other states do. However, these terms essentially have the same effect.
Court orders create detailed parenting plans that outline parenting time through a time-sharing schedule. Timesharing agreements set parenting time outlines for weekdays, weekends, holidays, school breaks, and summer vacations. The timesharing arrangement also addresses shared parental responsibility, or each parent’s authority to make decisions about the child’s education, healthcare, and general welfare.
The court determines time-sharing based on the child’s best interests. It weighs factors under Florida Statute 61.13. Common factors include each parent’s ability to meet needs, home stability, existing relationships, and any family history of domestic violence or substance abuse.
If you need legal guidance for child custody in Melbourne, FL, our paternity lawyers can help you through the process of time-sharing and parenting plans in Brevard County courts.
How Paternity Affects Child Support Obligations
If a biological father isn’t married to the mother, in order for him to pay child support, in most cases, parents must establish paternity in Florida. Here, courts consider both parents’ income and the number of overnights each has under the parenting plan. The more parenting time, the lower the child support obligation. Our paternity lawyers can help you understand how paternity actions affect child support in Melbourne, FL.
Contesting or Disestablishing Paternity in Florida (Proving a Man Is Not The Biological Father)
In some paternity cases, a man who has been recognized as a child’s father may want to challenge the allegation that he’s the biological father. Florida Statute 742.18 governs the disestablishment of paternity and is used when the man recognized as the legal father is not the biological father of the child.
For voluntary acknowledgments, acting quickly is critical. Within the first 60 days, either parent can withdraw the voluntary acknowledgment in writing. After 60 days, the voluntary acknowledgment of paternity is considered the final order. Parents can only overturn this by proving fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact in court.
For a man who signed a child’s birth certificate and was presumed to be the legal father through marriage, if new evidence arises or the man otherwise discovers he’s not the biological father of the child, he must file a petition for disestablishment of paternity in the circuit court with authority over the child support order.
Typically, disestablishment of paternity testing is required. If DNA testing confirms that the man is not the biological father of the child, courts will generally disestablish paternity and terminate the child support obligation moving forward.
It’s important to note that disestablishment does NOT relieve the person of paying arrearages. Courts will evaluate the circumstances of the paternity case and determine what obligations remain. This is a complex process. Seeking legal advice and guidance from a Brevard County paternity attorney is crucial.
Adoption and Paternity in Brevard County, Florida
In Florida, paternity establishes a father’s rights and responsibilities. However, stepparent adoptions in Brevard County fundamentally change that relationship. When a non-parent spouse adopts a minor from a prior relationship, the stepparent assumes full parentage, including every right and responsibility that comes with being a legal father or mother, as if the child were born to them.
In order for this to happen:
- The biological father or mother must voluntarily relinquish rights
- A court order terminates the parent’s rights (requires evidence of abandonment, unfitness, or similar grounds)
In Florida, if the child’s father isn’t married to the mother when the child is born, they must register with the Florida Putative Father Registry. This preserves the right to consent orders.
If the legal father is known and able to be located, he must be served with a notice of adoption. He has 30 days to respond and seek custody by filing a claim of paternity and a parenting plan.
Courts can waive this if the child’s father has failed to communicate or provide financial support for at least six months.
How a Brevard County, Florida, Paternity Attorney Can Help
Paternity cases are emotionally charged and can be complicated.
Whether you’re a mother seeking help financially from your child’s dad, a father seeking custody, or a parent who needs to change an order once paternity is established, unresolved paternity issues can seriously affect your family.
A paternity lawyer in Melbourne, FL, can help:
- file the Petition to Establish Paternity,
- manage the Brevard County circuit court filings,
- request court-ordered DNA testing,
- build strong cases and review court findings,
- represent parents in mediation and trial,
- draft parenting plans,
- negotiate time-sharing agreements, and
- pursue or defend against child support enforcement action in Brevard County.
We serve clients throughout Brevard County, including Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa, Titusville, Rockledge, and the surrounding Space Coast communities. We understand local court procedures and bring decades of combined family law experience to every Florida paternity action and negotiation we handle. Learn more about our fathers’ rights practice or our approach to child custody cases.
Related Family Law Practice Areas Our Melbourne Paternity Attorneys Handle
Paternity cases often overlap with other family law issues. Our Melbourne paternity attorneys represent clients across a range of related areas, including:
- Child Custody Modification
- Child Support Modification
- Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage
- Grandparent Rights
- Parents Relocating With Children
Schedule a Consultation With a Paternity Lawyer in Melbourne, FL
Our legal team provides legal guidance for Brevard County paternity issues. In some cases, bringing a paternity action is the only way to secure fathers’ rights in Brevard County courts. This will help enforce parental rights and ensure Florida law protects your kid’s best interests.
Contact our offices to schedule a consultation with our Melbourne paternity attorneys. Call 321-725-3425 or use our online contact form.