Paternity Lawyer Lake Forest, IL
If you wish to establish the identity of your child’s father, our paternity lawyer in Lake Forest, IL, from Hurst, Robin, Kay & Allen, LLC can help you. We also accept clients who wish to prove that they are the father of a child in order to petition for visitation rights. Paternity laws can be confusing, and a paternity ruling is legally binding, which makes it imperative to hire an experienced IL paternity lawyer in Lake Forest. Contact us to learn how we can assist you with establishing paternity.
Paternity Laws Across the Country
Paternity laws vary by state. This may be an issue if you are a resident of one state and the child or the other parent is a resident of another state. We can review your case details to determine whether residency or state-law variances will affect you. In most instances, the mother of a child files a paternity suit against a man from whom she wishes to collect child support. If the man does not deny paternity or voluntarily agrees to pay child support, we can provide legal advice on whether a suit is necessary. If the alleged father resides in a different state from the mother and child, we may request a default judgment against him if he does not respond to the complaint. Along with the judgment against the alleged father, the Court may issue an order requiring him to pay child support. Should this occur, the state in which he resides will honor the paternity rulings made by the Judge in your state. This ensures that the paternity rulings will be legally binding.
Contesting a Paternity Claim
When either the mother or the alleged father wishes to contest paternity, should the case go to Court, the Judge will require the mother, the alleged father, and the child to submit to DNA testing. The Judge will review the results, and they will strongly influence the decision-making process. Your paternity lawyer in Lake Forest, Illinois can provide you with the accuracy threshold that is required in Illinois for proving the validity of the paternity claim. Important points to keep in mind:
- If the alleged father refuses to take a paternity test, the Court can order him to undergo one regardless. Talk to our Lake Forest, IL paternity lawyer to learn more.
- If the paternity test result is positive, the father may contest the result and request a retest. However, the cost will likely rest on his shoulders.
- If a second paternity test result is positive, the Court will legally recognize the father.
If you are looking into establishing paternity while also considering child custody or support, you need the help of a paternity lawyer in Lake Forest at Hurst, Robin, Kay & Allen, LLC. Part of the divorce or separation process, when a child is involved, is determining who pays child support and how much. But even before the court can order child support, paternity needs to be established. Establishing paternity is not always easy. Until paternity is established by the courts, the father of a child is not generally granted any legal responsibilities or rights, including child support responsibilities and custody/visitation rights. A paternity case can be initiated by either parent, or the court may proceed without a parent specifically requesting action. We can answer any questions you may have regarding paternity, child support, and/or child custody matters.
Unmarried Parents and Presumed Father
If the parents are not married at birth, establishing paternity can be done in a few ways. In order to establish paternity, both parents can agree on the paternity or the biological father can create an affidavit stating he is the father. In either case, child support is required of an admitted father. It is important to double-check that this is the process established by your state of residence. We can help you to ensure that you have followed all proper protocol for establishing paternity if you and your child’s other parent are unmarried.
Married Couple
If the child was conceived or born when the couple was married, most states will presume that the husband is the child’s biological father. However, in some states, if the couple was not together at the time of conception or birth, the presumption of paternity may be invalidated.
If the man wishes to establish paternity, he would generally file a court petition to do so. If the man wishes to do this, he must contact a Lake Forest, IL, paternity lawyer as soon as possible. If this is not done in a timely manner, the court may rule that a father must pay child support even if a child is not biologically his. A man may be presumed to be the father if the following situations are true:
- After the child was born, the couple was legally married, and the husband agreed to place his name on the child’s birth certificate or to provide financial support.
- The man attempted to marry the mother, and during that period, the child was conceived or born.
- The child was welcomed into the man’s home, and the man regarded the child as his own.
Alleged Father
If the court believes that an unwed man is the biological father of a child, he is said to be the alleged father. In presumed paternity, it is the responsibility of the father to prove that the allegation is false. The court must offer an alleged father the right to take a DNA or other paternity tests prior to proceeding to any child support case. An experienced Lake Forest, Illinois paternity lawyer can help you if you find yourself affected by similar circumstances. Never ignore any paternity petitions from the court. If you do not respond to the petition, the court could issue a default judgment against you. This could result in the judge declaring you as the biological father even without doing a paternity test. Bottom line, if you ignore the court, you could pay child support to a child that is not biologically yours.
How to Modify Child Support Orders if You’re Not the Father
Family life rarely stays relatively predictable for long. Children get sick, family members’ work and/or educational needs change, parents face financial challenges, and so on. Thankfully, the law recognizes that families’ and children’s needs evolve over time.
As a result, family law courts provide mechanisms by which parents may mutually agree on modifications to their existing child custody orders and by which parents may formally request such modifications even if a child’s other parent does not agree to the change. One of these situations is when one of the people responsible for the child takes a paternity test and discovers they are not a parent.
These are the two primary ways that parents modify existing child custody orders. They either work with their attorneys and each other to formalize agreed-upon modifications or work with attorneys to request that the court rule in their favor on a requested change. This can be done with the help of an IL paternity lawyer at Hurst, Robin, Kay & Allen, LLC. These potential paths to child support modification apply to both parents required by law to pay child support and those receiving child support payments.
In general, courts are usually content to approve modifications that have been agreed upon by both parents, provided that the requested changes do not significantly interfere with a child’s best interests. A modification situation tends to become a bit more difficult to navigate when one parent is seeking a change that the other parent does not agree with, especially if the alleged father is now seeking not to pay future child support payments because new information has come to light.
Family law judges typically rule in favor of one-sided modification requests only when certain criteria are met. These criteria often vary from state to state, so it is important to speak with an experienced lawyer in Lake Forest, IL for paternity testing about your unique circumstances, if you are interested in pursuing a one-sided modification request. But in general, either a child’s needs or a parent’s financial situation must have changed significantly before a judge will approve a support modification request that has not been agreed to by both parents. De-establishing paternity is one of these significant changes.
Child Support Assistance Is Available
If you are interested in modifying your existing child support orders because you have found new information after taking a paternity test, please consider scheduling a consultation with our team. Every family’s situation is different, so it is generally a good idea to consult an attorney before deciding that a specific approach to modification is the best fit for your situation. In addition to advising you about your legal options, an attorney will be able to explain how unique state laws may impact your situation. Once your choices have been informed by an attorney’s guidance, you will be able to move forward in your decision-making process more confidently.
Contact an Attorney
If you have questions concerning paternity issues and child support, please consider contacting us today. Our legal team would be happy to answer your questions and advise you on your legal options at this time. Please consider scheduling a confidential, risk-free consultation today with a Lake Forest paternity lawyer in Illinois from Hurst, Robin, Kay & Allen, LLC.
