Paternity Cases
The birth of a child is among the happiest days in a parent’s life, but for parents that have a child out-of-wedlock, there may be many legal challenges ahead. In addition to the flurry of issues that come with the birth of a new child, these parents also face issues including child support, child custody, birth certificate information, and inheritance rights. Understandably overwhelmed by car seats, colic, and midnight feedings, many unmarried parents delay the task of securing their parental rights.
While this may appear to be a reasonable form of triage, there are many advantages to promptly securing parental rights and many disadvantages to delayed action. Whether you are a father seeking to arrange custody time with a child, or you are a mother wanting to ensure that a father meets his financial obligations, contact one of the experienced paternity attorneys with the Zolman Law Firm today for a free consultation to protect yourself and your child.
For many years, the number of children born to unmarried parents has been steadily rising. While unmarried, many of these parents are in a committed relationship with one another and reside in the same household. It seems reasonable for these parents to refrain from taking legal action to secure their parental rights due to their intention to cooperatively co-parent with one another. These parents may fear that taking legal action may destabilize their relationship with their co-parent, and others simply believe that the money needed to secure their parental rights would be better spent on the litany of expenses that come with parenthood.
Unfortunately, despite the parents’ best efforts and intentions, many of these relationships will sour over time, and the parents decide to live in separate households. Whether the split was due to the stresses brought on by parenthood, or the parents simply grew apart, by the time separation occurs, the acrimony between the parents is often intense. This is the point at which many unmarried parents seek legal counsel to secure their parental rights. Due to the conflict that led to the separation, it is often difficult for these parents to reach an agreement regarding their parental rights and obligations, and they expend substantial amounts of time and money litigating the issues.
If the parents had jointly acted to secure their parental rights while their relationship was healthy and amicable, they could have avoided litigation by reaching an agreement and have saved themselves months of litigation, unnecessary stress and conflict, and thousands of dollars. Don’t make the same mistake as countless other well-intentioned, unmarried parents, and contact one of the experienced paternity attorneys with the Zolman Law Firm to discuss the options available to you and your family.