Our Team Helps Unmarried Parents Resolve Custody, Visitation And Support
When married couples have children, the husband automatically has parental rights and responsibilities. When a child is born outside of marriage, the father must establish paternity and petition the court for the right to share custody or spend time with his child.
These are sensitive situations, regardless of whether the parents lived together out of wedlock or only had a brief relationship. Our attorneys at Anderson, Leech & Long focus on family law and have one hundred years of experience with cases involving paternity and related issues. They represent fathers and mothers in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas of western Pennsylvania.
Establishing Paternity And Fathers’ Rights
If there is a dispute about the child’s parentage, a DNA test will definitively determine whether the reputed dad is or is not the biological father. Our lawyers assist men in initiating paternity actions to prove that they are the fathers. Once he passes the paternity test, the father can have his name added to the birth certificate and petition for parenting time, joint custody or even primary custody.
Our attorneys also represent women who are seeking to establish paternity to force the father to step up with child support and caregiving or who oppose co-custody or unsupervised visitation.
These hearings can be emotionally charged. Our attorneys will prepare you to answer the court’s questions and present your testimony.
Sometimes, their role is to help the parties work out a schedule and parenting agreement when unmarried parents acknowledge paternity and intend to share child-rearing responsibilities.
Making The Best Of The Situation
You may not have chosen this path, or maybe things didn’t work out with the relationship. But you are forever linked as co-parents. At Anderson, Leech & Long, our lawyers support families and help parents do what is in the best interests of their children.
Call our Pittsburgh family law attorneys at 412-347-4309 or contact us online to schedule a confidential consultation.