Tustin Paternity Attorney
Establishing the identity of a child’s biological father is extremely important for the emotional and psychological health of a child. It is also important from a legal perspective. If a child is born outside of marriage and neither parent takes legal action to prove the child’s biological parentage, that child can be deprived of important rights and benefits.
Attorney Susan Gurev, in Tustin, California, assists parents throughout Southern California in establishing the parentage of children through the legal process of paternity. She is a compassionate legal advocate for families and she can ably represent any client who seeks to establish a legal father for a child.
How Is Paternity Established? | Orange County Parental Rights Lawyer
In California, if the mother and father of a child are not married at the time the child is born, the father does not have any legal parental rights. Establishing biological paternity and obtaining legal parental rights is accomplished through the court system. Biological paternity can be proven by a signed admission by the father at the time of birth, through DNA testing, or by agreement of the parties; however, the Court must make a determination that he is the father in order for him to have and enjoy all the rights and responsibilities of parenthood.
Mothers and fathers both have good reasons for establishing paternity. For fathers, establishing paternity also bestows benefits: particularly, the legal rights to time sharing, and to influence important decisions that affect the child. For mothers and children, establishing paternity can legally obligate the father to contribute child support payments. A paternity determination can also entitle a child to inheritance from the father, as well as access to the father’s government benefits and health insurance.
When a man can be proven not to be a child’s biological father, disestablishing paternity can release him from financial and personal obligations to a child he did not father. It can also protect a mother and child from unwanted contact with a purported father who may be a bad influence on a child.
Attorney Susan Gurev is equally adept at working with mothers and fathers as clients to create a parenting plan that works for the parties and their children.
Contact The Law Office of Susan J. Gurev
Although a determination of paternity can be extremely beneficial, it can become harder to obtain as years pass and a child grows older. There are legal time limits to establishing paternity. If you are a parent who needs to determine the paternity of a child, you should act soon to establish and protect your parental rights and responsibilities.
To discuss your paternity options confidentially with an experienced Tustin paternity lawyer, contact the Law Office of Susan J. Gurev online or by calling 657-212-9661.