Paternity

January 31, 2018

I got a letter that I have to pay child support, but I never went to Court. What Should I Do?

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The short answer, yes, this happens all of the time and you should get a Florida Family Law attorney to review the documents and represent you to protect your legal rights. In Florida, historically, when a parent is looking to collect child support from another parent, they go to court, the judge determines whether the man is the father, they create a child support amount, and everyone carries on from that point. Another procedure has been getting more popular in recent years, however, and it is called the administrative establishment of child support.

The Department of Revenue is the state agency that works with custodial parents to collect child support, both from citizens who are in need of legal help for a small fee and also from citizens who receive public assistance for their children. The law allows the Department of Revenue to either use circuit courthouse to establish child support, or to use the administrative process. In the administrative process, parents are sent a letter that the Department of Revenue has started a case against them, and gives the parents twenty days to respond. Unlike the procedure in circuit court, no one comes out to serve the paperwork, they just receive a certified letter in the mail. It is assumed that if a person receives a letter, or a letter is signed for by a household member that the mail will be read by the addressed person.

This may not always be true, and can result in a child support order being entered against you, without going to court. If the parent does not respond, then the procedure moves forward, and with or without the involvement of the other parent, child support will be established, and will be a court order with the same effect of one that you would get from the courthouse. So, it would be possible for a person to have a child support, and not know it if they did not open the letter that they received from the Department of Revenue. This can have huge effects on the paying spouse, because if they are not aware of it, and their case does not have an income deduction order, then obviously, the Department of Revenue can seek to suspend their driver’s license, or any other method to make someone pay their child support. Not only that, but if a parent wishes to have a DNA test or has a question whether they are the father or not, that issue can be addressed in the administrative process but only if the parent takes the necessary steps to participate.

July 31, 2017

Does Entry on Birth Certificate Establish Paternity in the State of Florida?

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

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In the practice of family law, there are common questions that are posed to an attorney on a regular basis. One such question applies to birth certificates and the establishment of paternity. In summary, the entry of the father’s name on the birth certificate (by itself) does not establish paternity as a matter of law in the State of Florida.

But I’m on the birth certificate……

As a Florida family law lawyer, I receive many phone calls from fathers who want to spend more time with their children but are not permitted to do so by the mothers. The fathers always ask what rights they have because it seems the mother has all of the rights regarding the children. My standard question to their question is whether the person on the phone has been deemed the father or married to the mother when the child was born. Without fail, the response to my question is “I signed the birth certificate.”

October 28, 2016

Why Paying Child Support Alone Will Not Guarantee You Timesharing with Your Child.

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

FatherCustody Florida statutes require unmarried fathers to establish Paternity. While many parents believe merely signing a birth certificate is sufficient to establish rights to timesharing and parental responsibility regarding the child, it is not. I see many fathers who were never married to the mother of their child(ren) who act under the presumption that they have rights to see their child(ren), prior to legally establishing those rights. While each parent may not have the rights to timesharing with their children, each parent has a responsibility to support their children.

Through the Florida Courts an obligation for payment of child support can be established without establishing a right to timesharing. Florida Statue 409.256 allows for the state to begin a Paternity action in the following circumstances: the child’s paternity has not been established, when no one is named as the father on the child’s birth certificate or the person named as the father is the putative father named in an affidavit or a written declaration as provided in subparagraph 5 of the statute, The child’s mother was unmarried when the child was conceived and born, The department is providing services under Title IV-D., or The child’s mother or a putative father has stated in an affidavit, or in a written declaration as provided in s. 92.525(2), that the putative father is or may be the child’s biological father. The affidavit or written declaration must set forth the factual basis for the allegation of paternity as provided in s. 742.12(2).

While the establishment of child support payments without the establishment of timesharing for a Father can occur in numerous circumstances, I typically see it occur after the mother seeks state sponsored aid, which would fall under the category of the department providing services under Title IV-D. Often times when a mother is in need of state financial assistance, such as WIC, food stamps, or HUD housing, her case worker will request will inquire as to the support she is receiving, or not receiving, from the father of her children. The state will then seek to establish paternity of the child for the purposes of implementing a child support obligation on the father. Since the establishment of a child support obligation does not necessarily establish any rights of the father over the child, the father should file with the putative father registry in the State and file a petition to establish his parental rights. Filing with putative father registry allows for the State to be on notice that there may be a child that is biologically connected to the registered man and if anyone ever tries to terminate the parental rights of the child, then the registry is checked for a potential father of the child. Whereas, filing a petition to establish parental rights will allow for the establishment of timesharing, parental responsibility, and a child support arrangement (if one is not already in place).