Helping Families Solve Parentage Cases
Many children are born into families where their parents never chose to get married despite living with one another and supporting each other. They live as a normal family, but legally, they are distinct from a married couple. When the couple chooses to separate, the legal system will need to determine their rights and obligations toward their shared children.
These are known as parentage cases, and at the Law Offices of Michael D. Canulli in Naperville, I have been helping clients in these unique situations for decades. I am dedicated to helping families as they seek to part ways and find a peaceful and mutually beneficial pathway forward because this often helps them both to succeed in their new lives. However, when the parents cannot reach an agreement, I will provide strong advocacy from my many years of experience in order to protect the legal rights of my client and their children to reach their specific goals.
Paternity Law
In the state of Illinois, when a child is born to a woman who is married, it is assumed that her husband is the father. When a child is born out of wedlock, the baby’s father must establish paternity in order to have any legal parental rights. In Illinois, a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity (VAP) form can be obtained and signed at the hospital when the baby is born if both parties agree. If the mother refuses to consent to paternity, the father can file a paternity action. If the father refuses to acknowledge paternity, the mother can file a petition with the court to start a paternity action. Paternity must be established before child support will be required and before any sort of parentage action may be filed.
Promoting Peaceful Separations For Families And Encouraging Healing
Parentage cases involve many of the same considerations that would take place during a divorce in regard to the children. This often can be beneficial for the children, as long as the separating parents are committed to cooperation in determining the arrangement of the parental responsibilities and parental time. This will impact the amount of child support that the noncustodial parent will be required to pay.
In order for these cases to proceed, it may be necessary to establish the paternity of the father in order to legally establish them as the parent of the child or children. This can happen if the parents were not living together when the children were born, or if they were never originally listed on the birth certificate. By completing these cases, both parents can have their legal rights established with regard to their children and abide by their duties and responsibilities to them.
Give Me A Call Today
Please call 630-717-7877 or send me a message online to schedule an appointment should you wish to do so. When you come to see me you will not be talking to a junior associate or paralegal, you will speak directly to me.