Paternity

Attorneys Handling Paternity Matters in Fresno

When a baby is born from a mother who is married, her spouse is assumed to be the father of the child. Determining the father of a child born outside of marriage is not so simple. Couples who have children outside of marriage can become locked in disputes over paternity. Lerandeau & Lerandeau, Attorneys at Law, in Fresno, California, focuses on family law exclusively and represents clients seeking to prove or disprove paternity.

Emotion and Science

Paternity cases combine complex science with a highly emotional situation. A biological mother may want a boyfriend or ex-boyfriend to financially support the child he fathered, while the father is denying his parentage. A mother may deny a biological father visitation with his child, claiming that he is not the father of the child.

The advent of DNA testing has greatly helped provide proof of paternity and verify whether the purported father has a biological link to the child. At Lerandeau & Lerandeau, Attorneys at Law Link, we help facilitate the process of DNA testing to verify paternity or disqualify a purported biological father.

Child Custody, Visitation, and Support Enforcement

If DNA testing verifies paternity, the mother will be eligible to obtain child support for the baby from the father. The circumstances between the mother and father do not matter; child custody issues in a paternity situation are treated the same as they would be in a divorce situation. Net incomes are calculated and health insurance and childcare costs are factored in as well. The parties may dispute the validity of the numbers entered into that calculation.

Fathers who prove paternity to spend time with their child are entitled to custody and visitation. We encourage mediation in those matters so the child is not used as a pawn in litigation. A negotiated settlement puts you in control of the decisions and the future of all involved. Involving the court takes child custody and visitation decisions out of your hands, and puts them into the hands of a judge.

Contact Us

For more information, or to schedule an appointment with an experienced lawyer regarding a paternity issue or DNA testing, please contact us.