When to Hire a Paternity Lawyer

Determining the paternity of a child can be a life-changing experience, so it’s important to ensure paternity actions are done properly. Working with an experienced paternity lawyer is imperative if you are interested in establishing or disestablishing paternity. An attorney can help you prepare the appropriate documents, ensure the appropriate steps are taken, and make sure the other party does not overstep their bounds or violate your rights in anyway.

It’s in your best interest to contact a paternity lawyer if you need help establishing the paternity of a child. A woman who believes a man is the biological father of her child may ask the man to submit to a paternity test. Once a DNA test proves a man is the biological father of the child, he will be required to make child support payments. A paternity lawyer can be hired to represent the woman seeking the DNA test, or a paternity attorney can be hired to represent the man. Sometimes it the man who wants to submit to a paternity test, usually because he is trying to clear his name so he doesn’t have to pay child support, or because he needs proof that he is the father in order to exercise his rights to custody or visitation of a child, as some women will not grant the man access to the child until paternity has been established.

Whatever your particular reason is for needing a DNA test, whether you need to establish paternity or disestablish paternity, an experienced paternity lawyer can help!