Washington State affords certain rights to fathers, including the right to have a say in a child’s emotional, physical, and financial care. Fathers undergoing divorces or separations may find those rights compromised. Some men may even want to contest assertions of fatherhood. In these circumstances, men can turn to Bellevue paternity lawyers for support.
Working with a Bellevue child custody lawyer makes it easier for fathers to protect themselves from unfair custody agreements or child support payments while preserving their right to positively impact their children.
The team with Dellino Family Law will tailor our legal services to suit a father’s goals, be that the preservation of their rights or the dissolution of paternity.
Our understanding of the law in Washington State is built on over 180 years of combined legal experience. You can trust us to address your concerns about paternity with compassion and care before representing you in or out of the state’s family law courtrooms. Contact us today to learn more about how we can leverage our knowledge on your behalf.
Defining Paternity in Washington State
Parents in Washington State can assert paternity over a child at the child’s birth. Filing an Acknowledgement of Parentage gives men the right to serve as a child’s legal guardian and obligates them to provide for the child on financial, medical, physical, and emotional levels.
Our family lawyers in Bellevue can help teenage fathers in Washington State assert paternity, as they have just as much right to do so as adult fathers. Minors can sign Paternity Agreements and take on the responsibilities of a father regardless of their age. Thus, teen fathers can assume the same rights as adult fathers, though they can rescind those rights before turning 19.
Fathers intent on filing an Acknowledgement of Parentage need to do so by submitting their paperwork to the Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics. That assertion of paternity is not always permanent, though. Both alleged parents have the right to take back an assertion of parenthood within 60 days of their initial filing.
Why Should You Establish Paternity in Washington State?
Establishing paternity in Washington State allows you to have a say about how a child grows up, as well as court-approved parenting time and provisions ensuring that your child cannot be kept from you in the wake of a divorce or legal separation. Paternity also preserves your right to make medical, religious, and educational decisions on a child’s behalf.
Declarations of paternity can also allow you to request tax benefits in the form of deductions for the oversight of a dependent. You can even leverage paternity to arrange a division of your property and other inheritances upon your passing.
Paternity, subsequently, can afford you economic rights as well as the right to raise a child in a happy and loving environment. Dissolving your paternity rights removes you from that child’s life on a legal and financial level, but it can also protect you from unreasonable child support payments.
Paternity Impacts Your Rights As a Father
Legal separations and divorces can leave you in a difficult position regarding parenthood and paternity. Early declarations of paternity can prevent an ex-spouse from denying you access to your child or making wholesale parenting decisions without your input.
Unfortunately, some ex-spouses will attempt to compromise your paternal rights as you are undergoing a separation or divorce. If an ex-partner tries to throw your paternal rights into question, our Bellevue paternity attorneys can help you undergo the appropriate DNA tests and medical processes to confirm your right to involvement in a child’s life.
Similarly, we can work with you to challenge false assertions of domestic violence in an attempt to deny you your paternal rights.
When Can You Challenge Paternity in Washington State?
In divorce or separation proceedings, you may have the right to challenge assertions of paternity that would otherwise name you the father of a child. However, Washington State strictly forbids divorcing couples from challenging paternity to harass their ex-partner. You must have a legitimate basis and raise the issue in the context of your case.
If you think you may have the grounds to challenge paternity, you can speak with our legal team to discuss your options. We can go on to represent you as you pursue DNA testing and an investigation to prove that you do not have a paternal obligation to your ex-partner’s child.
When to Contact a Bellevue Paternity Lawyer
Our paternity attorneys in Bellevue, WA, are here to answer any questions you might have about:
- Assertions of paternity and how to assume paternity of a child
- Your paternity rights
- How to refuse paternity or challenge attempts to assign you paternity
- Child custody, parenting plans, and child support payments required from paternal figures
- The legal impacts of estrangement
- How adoptive fathers interact with legal paternity and the rights therein
- How paternity rights continue to impact your life after a separation or divorce
We invite you to book a case consultation with our team and bring your questions to experienced legal professionals. We can offer you individualized advice and representation in family court, should the need to do so arise.
You are not a number when you turn to Dellino Family Law for guidance. You are a person, and we will treat you with compassion.
Contact Dellino Family Law for Paternity Support Today
Paternity can impact your ability to take care of your children during a marriage or in the wake of a legal separation or divorce. Washington State law allows you to contest and assert paternity, ensuring that you cannot be forced into or denied paternal rights without your own say.
If you need help interpreting Washington State’s paternity laws, you can contact our Bellevue, WA, paternity attorneys for support. You can discuss the logistics of your situation during a case consultation with our team, after which we can discuss how to approach the question of paternity and its impact on your rights and relationships.
The sooner you reach out to our team, the sooner we can offer you individualized advice and representation. It is time to let Dellino Family Law go to work for you.