Best Family Law Attorney Maryland

There are many benefits to being a parent for everyone involved. Proving your parentage can be extremely beneficial especially to a child. Not only is it emotionally stabilizing for them to know who both of their parents are, but down the road, it may also be valuable financially and medically, for reasons that you aren’t aware of at this time. For an adult to claim parentage, it is an emotionally charged event that will forever legally bind that person with the child and shows an unsurpassable amount of love for that child and grants you rights to that child that no one else can revoke, so long as you take care of your responsibilities as well. If you have questions about paternity, you are likely searching for the best family law attorney Maryland clients recommend. 

Responsibilities and Rewards            

While children are not born with an instruction manual, there are certain responsibilities that the court bestows upon parents, that if they are not being cared for, the title of parent may be revoked.  These responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Care for, protect, and reasonably discipline the child
• Provide support: food, clothing, housing, education, health, and dental care
• Manage a child’s money
• Financially support a child, at least through high school

With these responsibilities come many rewards:

• Spending time with the child
• Decisions on education, residence, religious training and legal matters
• Judgement on health and dental care, marriages, and military enlistments until a certain age
• The child may also inherit from you, know your medical history, get health insurance and life insurance as well as receive social security or veteran’s benefits if available

Proving Parentage

In order to obtain these rights and responsibilities, parentage must be proven.  It may be automatically established at the birth of the child if both of the parents are married at birth.  This is also true for registered domestic partners.  However, for many couples, parentage is something that will need to be established.  Fortunately, there are a variety of options on how to prove that. The two most common options are:

• Sign a voluntary Affidavit of Parentage
• Get a court order

The voluntary Affidavit of Parentage can be done after the child is born. It is a form that is generally given to unmarried parents at the hospital before they leave. However, it can also be picked up at a local registrar’s office, child support offices, and court offices. The main legal concern with this form is it has to be done completely voluntarily. It cannot be forced upon anyone, otherwise, later on, it can be deemed a fraudulent document.

Getting a court order is a more tedious option. With this option, one parent – usually with the help of a Family Lawyer Baltimore residents trust – petitions the court naming someone as the other parent, traditionally the mother naming a father. The court will then send this form (known as a Summons and Complaint) to the presumed father, who may immediately accept. 

The other option is that they challenge the claim and file an Answer to Complaint, however, this must be done within 30 days, or else the court deems them the father and may require child support payments. This method may also require DNA testing.  DNA is genetic material that both of the mother and father pass on to the child at conception. It can be found in all of the cells in the human body, and for that reason does not necessarily need to be done via blood sample. 

No matter the route you choose to proceed with, establishing parentage may be one of the best decisions you will make for the child involved. Having the best family law attorney in Maryland to walk you through the process will make an emotional situation much easier and less stressful. Call Greenberg Law Offices today to find out how we can help.