Chandler Paternity Attorney

If you are dealing with a paternity case in Chandler, Arizona – either as a child’s mother or presumed father – the attorneys at Guymon Law can help. Our experienced paternity lawyers can answer your legal questions, give you an honest and realistic evaluation of your case, and support you throughout your complicated legal matter. Don’t wait. Contact our Chandler paternity attorneys today for a one-on-one case consultation.

Why Choose Guymon Law’s Paternity Attorneys?

• We will be a constant support to you and your family during a difficult time. Our lawyers take the time to connect and build a rapport with their clients.
• Our founding attorney, Amber L. Guymon, has more than 12 years of legal experience. All of our family law attorneys have over 50 years of combined experience.
• We pride ourselves on being honest and straightforward with our clients. While we will work hard for your desired outcome, we will also give you realistic expectations about your paternity case.

What Is Paternity?

Paternity is the process of establishing a biological father’s parental rights. This will often include a determination of legal decision-making, parenting time and child support. If paternity is contested in Chandler, it may be necessary to conduct a DNA test to determine a child’s paternity. A father may seek to establish paternity if the mother is unwilling to allow reasonable access to a child, or to prevent the mother from relocating with a child.

Either parent may seek to establish paternity to determine legal decision-making, parenting time and child support in Chandler. If the parents were never married, the court cannot enter custody or support orders until paternity is established. If paternity is uncontested, then it is usually unnecessary to conduct a DNA test. The parents can simply sign an acknowledgment of paternity or obtain a paternity order from the court.

What Are the Benefits of Establishing Paternity?

Establishing paternity in Chandler is important for many reasons. Identifying a child’s father on paper can establish a parent-child relationship, along with many legal benefits, such as making the child eligible for inheritance from the father in the future. It can also be important to a child for personal reasons, such as answering questions about heritage, genetics and medical history. Some key benefits of establishing paternity include:

• Requiring the father to pay child support and financially support the child.
• Requiring retroactive child support for three years prior to the court case.
• Giving the father the right to request parenting time or visitation with the child.
• Allowing the father some say in childcare decisions, such as health care, religion and education.
• Making the child eligible for insurance, military and Social Security benefits.
• Having both parents involved in the child’s life and upbringing.

Establishing paternity as a mother or father can give your child the opportunity to benefit from many advantages connected to knowing both parents. It can have a positive personal impact on your child by establishing a better sense of identity, as well as help your family financially by holding the legal father financially responsible for childcare costs.

How to Establish Paternity in Chandler

If you wish to establish paternity as the mother or father of a child in Arizona, there are two main options available to you. The right choice will depend on your circumstances, as well as the level of cooperation you are getting from the child’s other parent. You can establish paternity with either a:

1. Voluntary signature. This is the easiest way to establish paternity in Arizona. If you wish to become a child’s legal father, you can sign a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity form to make it official. This will make you the child’s legal parent whether or not you are the biological father.
2. Court order. If you and the other party involved in the case do not agree on who the father of the child is, you can seek a court order establishing paternity. Court orders are often initiated by the child’s mother, the child’s legal guardian, the claimed father or a government agency.

If your paternity case has to go to court, it will most likely involve a genetic or DNA test to find out if the person in question is the child’s biological father. To be considered valid, the test result must confirm with at least 95 percent certainty that the individual is the child’s biological father.

Discuss Your Case With an Attorney in Chandler, Arizona Today

For more information about how to establish paternity in Arizona, please contact Guymon Law to speak to an attorney. Our family law attorneys are passionate about helping families with all types of legal matters, including establishing or terminating the parent-child relationship. Discuss your unique Chandler paternity situation with one of our attorneys during a confidential case evaluation. We are available to meet with clients at our local law office in Chandler as well as to take consultations over the phone. Call (480) 680-8823 today.