Protecting Your Parental Rights
Being the parent of a child carries with it great responsibilities and certain rights. As the legal father of a child, you may be required to provide child support. You may also have custody or visitation rights, but these do not come automatically and must be granted by the court.
If you have questions about your parental rights and responsibilities, an attorney at Mavrides Law can provide answers in an initial consultation.
Contact the firm to schedule your consultation.
What Is a Paternity Action?
Under Massachusetts law, the biological mother of a child born out of wedlock has sole custody of a child until the court rules otherwise.
The procedure to establish fatherhood in the eyes of the law is called a paternity action. The mother of a child or the putative father can initiate a paternity action. If the court orders it, the putative father and child must submit to a painless genetic marker test. Alternatively, a man can admit in court documents to being the father or may have already consented by signing the birth certificate.
Court hearings to determine the payment of child support, custody or visitation time will then be scheduled and heard.
How Mavrides Law Can Help
Mavrides Law has extensive experience representing both women and men in paternity action suits.
If you are the mother of a child, the firm can go to court to establish paternity for the purposes of obtaining child support or a visitation schedule. It can also represent you if you wish to prevent the father of your child from gaining custody or visitation rights.
If you believe you are the father of a child, the firm can initiate a paternity action for the purposes of obtaining child custody or visitation rights.
If litigation results, the firm will aggressively represent you to protect or secure your parental rights.
To schedule an initial consultation with a lawyer, contact Mavrides Law. The firm has offices in Quincy and Boston, Massachusetts, to serve you.