Proving Paternity To Protect Fathers’ Rights

When children are born outside of marriage, paternity must be legally established before rights to child support, custody or visitation arise. At Featherstone Family Law, we help parents legally establish paternity and obtain the support and time they are entitled to. Located in American Fork, our lawyers serve parents in Orem, Provo and throughout Utah County.

Paternity Establishment

As a father, you have the right to establish and maintain a relationship with your children. Before your rights to custody and visitation can be legally recognized, however, paternity must first be established.

Unfortunately, simply putting the name of the father on a child’s birth certificate is not enough to establish paternity. If you are the mother to a child born outside marriage and are seeking child support from the child’s father, you must first establish legal paternity before you can obtain a child support order.

How Is Paternity Determined In Utah?

In Utah, there are two ways to establish paternity. When the mother and father agree on paternity, they can complete a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity and file it with the appropriate state agency. There are strict requirements that must be followed. In addition, either the mother or father of the child can file a paternity action in court.

At Featherstone Family Law, our attorneys provide affordable legal support during both procedures. We can help ensure Voluntary Declarations of Paternity are properly completed and filed. We also provide full-service legal representation during custody petitions and disputes.

We strive to keep our rates low and act efficiently to keep costs down. Our attorneys will provide as much or as little support as you need. Flat fees may be available.

Support During Paternity Disputes

In addition to our affordable legal services, our firm also has psychologists, family therapists and professional custody evaluators on-site. Because our attorneys work closely with health professionals when developing our legal strategies, we are able to develop child custody and visitation arrangements that are truly in the best interests of our clients and their children.

Contact our paternity lawyers serving throughout Utah County at 801-960-3359 or 866-434-0523. Consultations are free.