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The Difference Between a Legal Father and the Biological Father in the Orlando, Florida Area

A biological father is the father who created the child by having sexual intercourse with the mother in the State of Florida. The biological father is the one that comes back as the father from a DNA test. 

Florida Statute 742.10 is the Paternity Statute. This statute deals with the establishment of paternity for children born out of wedlock. If an adjudicatory proceeding was not held, a notarized voluntary acknowledgement of paternity or voluntary acknowledgement of paternity, which is witnessed by two individuals and signed under penalty of perjury as specified by Florida Statute 92.525(2), creates a rebuttable presumption, as defined by Florida Statute 90.304, of paternity and is subject to the right of any signatory to rescind the acknowledgement within 60 days after the date the acknowledgement was signed or the date of an administrative or judicial proceeding relating to the child, including a proceeding to establish a support order, in which the signatory is a party, whichever is earlier. 

After the 60 day period referred to in subsection (1), a signed voluntary acknowledgement of paternity shall constitute the acknowledgement of paternity and may only be challenged in court on the basis of fraud, duress or material mistake of fact, with the burden of proof upon the challenger, and under which the legal responsibilities, including child support obligations of any signatory arising from the acknowledgement may not be suspended during the challenge, except upon a find of good cause. 

The legal father is the person married to the mother when the child is born. 

When filing to establish paternity in the Orlando, Florida area, one should request the establishment of paternity, timesharing and coparenting, and child support. You can hire an attorney to file the pleadings to establish paternity. Further, the Paternity pleading forms are on the Florida Supreme Court website. You can find Florida Supreme Court Paternity forms on FloridaCourts.gov. You may file the pleadings yourself. That is called proceeding Pro Se. If you cannot afford a private attorney, you can call the Legal Aid Society in the county where you live to see if you qualify for an attorney from Legal Aid. 

When calling an attorney for a consultation, the attorney may charge an initial consultation fee. The more experienced attorneys will probably charge you a higher consultation fee. Some attorneys may give you a free consultation. There are many attorneys out there for all people with different budgets for an attorney. 

If you have more questions regarding a Marital and Family Law matter, you may call Ann Marie Giordano Gilden at Ann Marie Giordano Gilden, P.A. at 407-732-7620 and set an initial consultation. You may also visit my website at: https://www.annmariegildenlaw.com 

This article is for informational purposes only and does not form an attorney client privilege.