Paternity

April 28, 2010

Florida Paternity – Do You Have Legal Rights to Your Child?

Florida paternity is established by marriage or the Court, not by signing a Birth Certificate. A Birth Certificate does nothing more than give the presumption that you are, in fact, the father of your child. If you are not married to the mother ( at least 10% of couples living together are not married), then the Court does not recognize you as the baby’s daddy.

To establish your rights to the child, it is important that you speak with an attorney so that your child does not grow-up without you. What you need to ask your attorney:

1. How do I file a Petition to Establish Paternity?

April 21, 2010

Florida’s Residency Requirements – Divorce, Child Support and Timesharing

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Filing for divorce, child support or timesharing modifications in Florida require that you be a resident of the state. Residency is determined based on Florida Statute 61.021, which requires that an individual be a resident of Florida for at least six (6) months prior to filing an action within the State Court.

Residency can be determined by a number of factors, the most common of which is your drivers license. If you have moved to Florida, make certain to get your new drivers license immediately, so that you can prove your residency when the time comes.

Another way to prove residency is by providing a lease agreement, utility bills, or by having an affidavit signed by a neutral third party that can verify you have lived in the State for the required period of time.

February 17, 2010

Rap Artist Flavor Flav Reported to Owe Thousands in Back Child Support

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

William Drayton Jr. is best known by his stage name, Flavor Flav. Recently, the 1980’s rap star from the group Public Enemy has made a big comeback by appearing on such reality TV shows as The Surreal Life, Strange Love, and Flavor of Love. But according to the Albany, New York Child Support Collection Division, Drayton owes back child support payments to Mary Parker, the mother of three of Drayton’s children.

Drayton will be required to appear in court to answer charges that he owes Ms. Parker over sixty three thousand dollars in back child support payments and private school tuition. The back child support payments are due to a judge increasing Drayton’s responsibility from just over one hundred dollars per week to over eight hundred dollars per week, and making the ruling retroactive to 2008, when Ms. Parker originally filed an amendment to the child support agreement.

Drayton plans to contest the charges, claiming that he has regularly paid Ms. Parker more than he was required to by the original agreement. Drayton’s recent success has prompted several other complaints from family members, including a daughter who said that he reneged on an offer to pay for her last semester in college. Karen Ross-Fortunate is the mother of three of Drayton’s other children, and has charged that he has not financially supported her children either. Drayton has seven children.

February 11, 2010

California Man (Henry Lisowski) Allegedly Kills Estranged Wife (Rosa Lisowski) to Avoid Paying Child Support

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Henry Lisowski allegedly threatened his ex-wife with murder two years before she disappeared in March of 2008. After several months of searching for the woman, police received a letter from Lisowski saying that his wife had died and that he had thrown the body in a dumpster. Prosecutors maintain that the man killed his wife because she was taking him to court for child support. Defense attorneys claim that his wife died from falling down the stairs and Lisowski hid the body because he was afraid her death would look suspicious.

At the time of Ms. Lisowski’s disappearance, Lisowski had been ordered to pay $1000 a month in child support, and a hearing had been scheduled to determine if he had underreported his income in order to avoid paying more. It later turned out that he had underreported his income by over one hundred percent.

When questioned by police about his wife’s disappearance, Lisowski claimed that she was a drug addict and believed that the drug cartel had gotten to her. Lisowski had fresh scratch marks across his cheek when he was questioned. He also expressed no interest in taking the children into his home.

January 19, 2010

Jacksonville, Florida – Birth Parents Take Back Custody of Daughter from Adoptive Family

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Linda and David Pfeiffer of New London, Connecticut already had an adopted son, Darius, and they were not looking to have another child. But when a family friend from Jacksonville, Florida became pregnant and did not believe she was able to care for the child herself, she asked if the Pfeiffers would raise her child. Linda and David agreed, and they adopted Reylani soon after she was born. As part of the process, they flew to Florida and met with an attorney and had the birth parents sign a termination of parental rights.

It was only two weeks later that Linda Pfeiffer received a text message from the child’s birth mother, saying that Reylani’s biological father might actually be a different man. That man filed a paternity suit in Jacksonville Circuit Court and had his paternity confirmed with a DNA test. According to Florida law, a father must assert his paternity by filing the Florida Putative Father Registry Claim of Paternity claim before the child is born. Normally, this man would have no case. However, the child’s biological father is in the Navy, and he is arguing that he should retain his rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which allows service members certain legal protections when they are on active duty. According to the Pfeiffers, the biological father knew that the mother was pregnant and was not at sea during the pregnancy, meaning he had ample opportunity to file for paternity during the legal window. The birth mother and biological father have since married.

In March a judge awarded custody to the biological parents, and the Pfeiffers were required to hand her over to them. The couple has since turned the Pfeiffers away when they flew to Florida in hopes of seeing Reylani. The Pfeiffers have filed an appeal to a panel of three judges, and are awaiting final word on their case. If you have questions regarding your rights as a biological parent or an adoptive parent in Florida you should contact a Florida Family Law Attorney.

January 7, 2010

Grand Rapids, Michigan – Non-biological Surrogate Mother Takes Children Back

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Amy and Scott Kehoe were unable to have children of their own. So they went to great lengths to hand pick an egg donor, sperm donor, and surrogate for their future child. They then hired a Michigan IVF clinic to carry out the procedure. The couple paid for everything out of pocket. But a month after the surrogate gave birth to twins, Ethan and Bridget, the Kehoes were forced to turn the children back over to the surrogate mother, Laschell Baker, who changed her mind about turning over custody of the children when she found out that Ms. Kehoe was under treatment for a mental illness. Ms. Baker, who already has four children of her own with her husband Paul, said she couldn’t live the rest of her life worrying whether Ms. Kehoe’s illness would remain under control.

Surrogacy is largely unregulated, and is controlled mostly by fertility doctors. In some states, the parents must legally adopt the surrogate child, but it creates an interesting legal conundrum, as the parents must first create the baby, which is not genetically related to them, and then ask the courts to grant them custody after the child is born. In other states, the parents are allowed to place their own names on the birth certificate without any screening, if they obtain a pre-birth order allowing it.

If a dispute arises, the outcome varies widely from state to state. In Michigan, the state holds that surrogacy is contrary to public policy and that surrogacy contracts are not enforceable, which is how Ms. Baker so easily had the Kehoe’s guardianship rescinded. Find out more about this child custody case and others like it at Building a Baby, With Few Ground Rules.

December 9, 2009

Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Man (Francisco Rodriguez) Ordered to pay over $10,000 in Child Support for Someone Else’s Daughter

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Fransisco Rodriguez is married with three children of his own. According to the state of Florida, he is also legally the father of the fifteen year old daughter of an ex-girlfriend, even though DNA tests and the girl’s own mother have confirmed that Rodriguez is not her biological father. He reportedly owes more than $10,000 in back child support, and he has already spent a night in jail because of it. The girl’s mother has written to the state asking them to not require Rodriguez to pay the child support.

Rodriguez is legally on the hook for the child support payments because the mother named him on the birth certificate and he claims he didn’t receive notification until about 4 years ago – after the deadline to contest paternity had passed. By that time a Florida court had already legally named him as the father three years earlier when he failed to appear in court. Rodriguez says he never received the notices because he changed addresses quite a few times. In light of the new information, the court has ordered its own DNA test, which Rodriguez has taken. The girl and her mother did not appear as ordered for the DNA test.

In the case of paternity, lawmakers and the courts struggle to strike a balance between the rights of all parties involved. Some groups even go so far as to suggest that DNA tests at birth should be mandatory in order to avoid later legal battles. If you are involved in a child custody or paternity issue, please contact our firm for expert legal counsel.

November 23, 2009

Father (Levi Johnston) of Bristol Palin’s Son (Tripp) Plans to Sue for Joint Custody

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin was forced to admit during her campaign that her fifteen-year-old daughter, Bristol, was pregnant. At the time the young girl and her teenage boyfriend, Levi Johnston, said they planned to marry. But they broke off their engagement earlier this year.

Now Johnston is pursuing legal action to obtain joint custody of the couple’s 10-month-old son, Tripp. He alleges that the Palin family is making it difficult for him to see his son. Sarah Palin is reportedly upset with Johnston for his upcoming appearance in Playgirl magazine. The two have had a publically strained relationship for some time. The Palin family attorney has stated publically that, according to the Palins, Johnston is always welcome to visit his son. You can read much more of the back and forth between Sarah Palin and her former potential son-in-law at Levi Johnston to Sue for Joint Custody of Son Tripp.

For unmarried or divorced parents in Florida, this case brings up some issues related to joint custody in Florida. Many Florida parents are seeking either joint custody or 50/50 rotating custody. The courts in North Florida do not really prefer this type of custody arrangement because some courts believe that the arrangement just isn’t practical for the children once they start school unless the parents live within a few miles of one another and demonstrate that they can operate as a real team. If you need help with a custody issue, please contact our firm for legal counsel.

November 17, 2009

Mel Gibson and Girlfriend (Oksana Grigorieva) Welcome Their First Child

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Australian actor Mel Gibson and his girlfriend, Russian musician Oksana Grigorieva, have welcomed a baby girl named Lucia into the world. While Lucia is Gibson’s eighth child, it is the couple’s first child together. Gibson has seven children with his former wife, Robyn Gibson. They divorced in April of this year after twenty-eight years of marriage. Gibson and Grigorieva met while filming “Edge of Reason.”

Gibson’s daughter was born in California, but if the child had been born in Florida, the new girlfriend would definitely need to file for a paternity action so that a judge could determine Mel to be the LEGAL father of the child and to have a support obligation for her. Until a judge signs an Order making Mel the legal father, the child would not be considered to be an heir at law to Mel Gibson. In sum, people who have babies out of wedlock in Florida need a paternity action even though they may be listed on the birth certificate. Until a Judge says that the father is the father, the child will not be legally recognized as the legal heir.

If you are unmarried and expecting a child, please contact our firm for family legal counsel.

October 13, 2009

I’m Not the Father – Disestablishing Paternity in Florida Part II

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Written By: Lenorae C. Atter

Family Law Attorney with Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

The Florida Disestablishment of Paternity statute allows for reputed “alleged” dads to tell the Court they have reason to believe they do not have a financial obligation to a child for whom they pay child support. The statute lays out many factors to be proven by the alleged father because there is a public policy interest that children not be without a father.