Choosing Your Paternity Lawyer
Establishing paternity is not a simple case of filling out the paternity acknowledge form and having your name included in the birth certificate of the child. Signing of the form would only acknowledge you as a father and would serve as an authorization for the state to deduct child support from you salary compensation. Unfortunately, it does not mean you are sharing custody with the child.
When paternity is established, the father would have rights to visitation and equal right for custody. The child would primarily benefit from establishing the paternity, since the child would have access to the fathers medical records, benefits whether insurance or inheritance. Aside from that, the child would also benefit from the fact that he or she was able to know the biological father.
It could also be the other way around. Some fathers would go to court to challenge paternity. Either way, it just shows us how complicated and difficult family law could be. Affidavits, forms and legal advice are very much needed, which is why getting a paternity lawyer is important. Some would also find lawyers who could also work as a divorce lawyer, especially if the paternity case was just right after a divorce, annulment or separation.
Paternity lawyers should have the ability to handle different issues which can affect the parents and the child, like visitation, custody and child support. Aside from that, it is also important to present evidences in court in either to support or challenge paternity. It is important to hire an experienced lawyer to help represent you in court.
Here are some useful tips for finding an experienced lawyer:
The best and honest referrals could come from your friends and family. You could ask friends and other members of the family if they have known somebody who could efficiently carry on the job. Aside from asking good recommendations, you could also ask if they know people who they would NOT recommend.
Local bar associations would also have network of lawyers they could refer to you. They could also give you the names of good divorce-paternity lawyers.
There are some lawyers who provide free consultations. You could start setting up appointment with these lawyers and decide if they would be able to provide you your needs, within your financial limitations. Prepare for each consultation with the lawyers, make sure that you have identified and listed the questions about their experience and how they have handled previous cases.
Check the lawyers background. You could talk to previous clients, if you know anybody; check their disciplinary history, if they are properly licensed and if they have considerable experience in family law.
The good thing is that there are websites where you could check information about some family lawyers. And while you are doing some background check on your lawyers on the internet, you could also start reading some paternity cases to learn from it. However, paternity cases on the internet are not to serve as legal paternity advice but as reference only.