Family & Criminal Law
representation in Florida
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Determination of Paternity
- Paternity tests can determine the father of a child
- Paternity tests can be used to assist in the determination of support, visitation, etc.
If the paternity of the child(ren) is disputed by the father, then after a Petition for Paternity is filed with the Court by either party, a request to the Court can be made to order DNA testing. If paternity is established based upon the outcome of the DNA test, then the parties can proceed to resolve the issues related to a paternity action, i.e., child custody, visitation, and child support.
Disestablishment of Paternity
Florida Statute 742.18 establishes circumstances under which a male may disestablish paternity or terminate a child support obligation when the male is not the biological father of the child. There are very specific rules for the disestablishment of paternity and one important one is that the male has come into new information about the paternity that they did not have previously. It is not enough that a man is divorcing and he has known throughout the whole marriage that he was not the biological father.