Paternity: Establishing paternity, and the rights that follow.
I'm Chris Taylor, and I represent mothers and fathers in Jacksonville paternity cases. When parents were never married, paternity may need to be legally established before the court addresses parental responsibility, time sharing, and child support. In some cases, paternity has already been established through a voluntary acknowledgment, often completed when the child's birth certificate is prepared. This page explains how paternity is established in Florida and what may need to happen after it is.
The process
How a paternity case works.
A paternity case may involve more than establishing who the child's father is. Depending on what has already happened, the case may also address parental responsibility, a parenting plan, time sharing, and child support.
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We first determine whether paternity has already been established.
We look at the birth certificate, any acknowledgment of paternity signed by the parents, and whether the Department of Revenue or a court has already been involved. In many cases, paternity has already been established before anyone comes to court.
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If necessary, paternity is established.
Parents can establish paternity voluntarily. If paternity is disputed or has not already been established, either parent can ask the court to determine it.
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If paternity is genuinely disputed, DNA testing can resolve it.
The court can order scientific testing when parentage is in question. In most cases, DNA testing provides a straightforward answer.
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The parenting plan and child support are addressed.
Establishing paternity does not, by itself, create a parenting plan or time-sharing schedule. Either parent can ask the court to establish parental responsibility, time sharing, a parenting plan, and child support. The Department of Revenue can also establish child support administratively. In those cases, the parents may agree to a parenting time plan and have it included in the administrative order. If they do not agree, the Department of Revenue cannot decide a time-sharing dispute, and the parenting issues must be addressed in circuit court.
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The final order puts the arrangement in place.
The final order may address paternity, parental responsibility, the parenting plan, the time-sharing schedule, and child support. These provisions can govern the family for years, so the details matter.
A child support order does not always establish a parenting plan.
A child support case and a parenting case are related, but they are not always the same proceeding. A Department of Revenue support order may include an agreed parenting time plan. If the parents do not agree on a plan, the Department of Revenue can establish support but cannot decide the disputed parenting issues.
What changes
What establishing paternity does.
Establishing paternity is not just about child support. It establishes the father's legal relationship with the child and affects the rights and responsibilities of both parents.
Legal fatherhood.
Once paternity is established, the father and mother are both natural guardians of the child and are entitled and subject to the rights and responsibilities of parents.
Rights before there is a parenting plan.
If paternity has not been established, the mother is the child's natural guardian and is entitled to primary residential care of the child unless a court orders otherwise. Once paternity is established, that changes. Both parents have legal rights and responsibilities, although a specific parenting plan and time-sharing schedule may still need to be established.
A schedule that can be enforced.
Either parent can ask the court to establish parental responsibility, a parenting plan, and a time-sharing schedule after the child is born. Until there is an enforceable parenting plan or time-sharing order, the parents may have an informal arrangement, but they do not have a court-ordered schedule to enforce.
Child support.
Either parent may be required to pay child support depending on the parties' incomes, the parenting arrangement, and the other factors used under Florida's child support guidelines. The number of overnights can materially affect the calculation, particularly when each parent has at least 20 percent of the overnights.
Two paths
Never married, or divorcing?
The parenting issues are largely the same. The procedure is different. When parents are divorcing, parental responsibility, time sharing, the parenting plan, and child support are addressed in the dissolution case. When parents were never married, those issues are generally addressed through a paternity case or, in some circumstances, through a Department of Revenue child support proceeding. The same child support guidelines apply in either setting.
Paternity
The parents were never married to each other, and legal fatherhood has to be established before anything else can be.
You're reading about it nowChild custody
Parentage is not in question, and what you need is a parenting plan and a time-sharing schedule.
See child custodyCommon questions
What parents ask about paternity.
His name is on the birth certificate. Is that enough?
It may be enough to establish paternity if both parents signed a valid voluntary acknowledgment of paternity. But establishing paternity does not, by itself, create a parenting plan or time-sharing schedule.
If the parents need a court-ordered parenting plan, time-sharing schedule, or determination of parental responsibility, those issues can be addressed in a paternity action. Child support may be established through the court or administratively through the Department of Revenue. In a Department of Revenue case, an agreed parenting time plan can also be included in the administrative support order.
Can a signed acknowledgment of paternity be taken back?
Yes, but the time to do so is limited. Either person who signed the acknowledgment may rescind it within 60 days of signing, or before the date of an administrative or court proceeding involving the child in which that person is a party, whichever occurs first.
After that period, the acknowledgment establishes paternity and can be challenged in court only on the basis of fraud, duress, or a material mistake of fact. The person challenging the acknowledgment has the burden of proof.
If you are still within the 60-day period and have questions about whether the acknowledgment should remain in place, it is worth addressing the issue promptly.
Will there be a DNA test?
Not necessarily. If paternity is disputed, the court can order DNA testing of the child, the mother, and the man alleged to be the father.
A test showing a 95 percent or greater probability of paternity creates a rebuttable presumption that he is the biological father. If the testing excludes him as the biological father, the paternity case is dismissed with prejudice.
Many paternity cases do not require DNA testing because paternity has already been established or is not disputed.
I am the father and I am not being allowed to see my child. What now?
If paternity has not already been established, that may be the first step. If it has, you can ask the circuit court to establish parental responsibility, a parenting plan, and a time-sharing schedule.
Establishing paternity gives a father legal parental rights and responsibilities, but it does not necessarily give the parents a specific schedule to follow. If there is no enforceable parenting plan or time-sharing order, filing a court action may be necessary to establish one.
Is time-sharing decided differently because we were never married?
No. Once time sharing is before the court, the same Florida law that applies in a divorce case also applies in a paternity case. That includes the rebuttable presumption that equal time sharing is in the child’s best interests.
The child custody page explains the factors the court considers in more detail.
Does child support get decided in the same case?
Yes. In a paternity case, the court can establish child support using the same Florida child support guidelines that apply in divorce cases.
The court can also enter temporary child support while paternity is still being determined if there is sufficient evidence that the alleged father is the child’s father. It may also address reasonable medical, hospital, and other expenses related to the child’s birth.
The child support page explains how the guidelines work.
What is the Florida Putative Father Registry?
The Florida Putative Father Registry allows an unmarried man who believes he may be the biological father of a child to formally claim paternity with the State of Florida.
Its primary purpose is to protect his right to notice if an adoption or termination of parental rights proceeding is later filed. A claim can be filed before the child is born, but generally must be filed before a petition to terminate parental rights is filed.
Registering does not, by itself, establish a parenting plan, time-sharing schedule, or child support. Those issues are addressed separately.
Mr. Taylor made a stressful situation a lot more bearable and put my mind at easy throughout the case.
- Two decades of practice
- Divorce and family law exclusively
- 10/10 Avvo rating
- Barrister, Florida Family Law Inn of Court
Free 45-minute case review
Ask me where you stand.
A free 45-minute case review is the place to start. Tell me what has been signed and what has not, and I will explain what establishing paternity would involve in your situation.
