Preserving Your Rights By Establishing Paternity

Paternity is a loaded subject for many people. From mothers who rightfully want help raising their children to fathers who want the right to spend time with their kids, many Ohioans find it necessary to take legal action to establish legal parentage of children born outside of marriage.

At Wolinetz, Horvath & Brown, LLC, our child custody attorneys understand that life moves fast, but that doesn’t mean your children have to pay the consequences of uncertainty. From our office in Columbus, we’ve acquired more than 75 years of combined experience helping Ohio families fight for their futures. We truly care about each of our clients and we work tirelessly to provide big-picture solutions for their unique legal challenges.

What Defines Paternity In Ohio?

Establishing the parentage of a child gives the mother and father certain legal rights, such as allowing them to work together to make life decisions, ensuring that kids can use medical histories from both families and giving each parent the right to make formal requests regarding custody or visitation orders. If you’re unmarried, Ohio requires that you and your co-parent establish paternity to take advantage of these parental rights. Most people accomplish this via one of two means:

• Both parents voluntarily sign an affidavit acknowledging the paternity of the child
• Either parent or the Child Support Enforcement Agency files a paternity lawsuit

From wanting to provide their kids with better opportunities to merely preserving emotional bonds, parents have unique reasons for establishing paternity. Our team of compassionate lawyers helps each person understand how the law might aid or hinder their desires so they can make the wisest decisions. Although it can be hard to put your emotions toward the other parent temporarily aside, we’re here to help you stay levelheaded and move toward a more stable familial situation.

Unmarried Couples Can’t Rely On Presumed Parenthood

In Ohio, the law doesn’t automatically assume that a biological father is a legal father unless a couple is married. While this system may have worked well in ages past, it commonly falls short in modern society. Those who become parents without tying the knot may later discover they lack the legal rights they thought they had.

Talking to an experienced Columbus paternity attorney at Wolinetz, Horvath & Brown, LLC can help make it easier to create a healthy future for yourself and your children. Call us at 614-362-8847 or send us a message online to reap the benefits of establishing parentage.