Father's Rights

When it comes to family law and divorce matters, fathers have legal rights concerning the custody of their children, financial support, visitation, and other issues. While it is easy to assume that a mother has more rights than a father, this is not the case. Many factors are used in determining parental time-sharing, child support, spousal support, etc., including income, earning capacity, emotional stability, and most important of all, what is in the best interest of the child/children. At Adams, Luka, & Benton, our father's rights lawyers are committed to helping fathers understand their legal rights, and successfully pursue your interests.

Whether you were married to your child/children's mother, are in the midst of divorcing, or have never been married but are a father, you have an especially tough struggle ahead of you. Whatever the issue, we understand how difficult it can be when children are involved, particularly if the mother is prone to conflict and desires a battle in court. We encourage you to contact our family law attorneys immediately, so that we can begin work on your case.

Establishing paternity is vital for many reasons. These include:

• Establishing parenting time, custody, and other rights you may have as a father
• Inheritance or social security benefits your child may receive in the event of your death
• Having to pay child support when you are not the biological father - failing to respond to a paternity petition filed by the child's mother could result in your being established as the father, resulting in the payment of child support

It is vital that you establish whether you are or are not the father of a child or children for many reasons. For your own sake, establishing paternity will work to your advantage in terms of parental time-sharing, and perhaps even custody. Establishing that you are not the father is critical in situations where the mother of a child may demand child support.

Some of the issues faced by biological fathers include:

• Child support - you may feel that the amount of support you have been ordered to pay is unreasonable
• Parenting plan - parental time-sharing plans often seem to favor the mother of the child/children, and you may be interested in taking on more responsibility
• Relocation - understandably, you may be concerned if the mother of your children is relocating due to remarriage, career, etc.

Because Florida courts analyze many factors in determining custody, child support, spousal support, and other issues, a father may actually be appointed as primary custodian by the court. These factors include income, stability/routines the child/children are comfortable with, emotional/physical health of both parents, and more.

At Adams, Luka, & Benton, we are strong advocates of father's rights. Whether you have paternity issues, are involved in a battle over custody or child support, or feel that the parenting plan is not fair, we are committed helping you pursue your legal rights. Fathers deserve to be participants in the upbringing of their children; if you are the primary custodial parent, you may have issues with non-payment of child support from the mother. Whatever concerns you have, if your father's rights are being violated we urge you to contact us now for a free consultation at 407-872-0303.