Establishing Paternity in Florida
As an experienced Florida paternity lawyer, I explain on this page how to establish paternity. I am not providing you legal advice, but merely giving you some information if you need to establish paternity of a child.
Mothers are the natural guardians of a child born out of wedlock. This means that the mother has all the rights and obligations regarding the care of the child until the paternity of the child is established. If you are the biological father of a child, you will need to establish your paternity through a court case so that you can have rights to caring and spending time with the child.
In a case where the mother is married at the time of having a child from another relationship, the legal father of that child is the mother’s husband; the biological father has no rights until he files a case to establish paternity of that child.
A paternity case can be filed by a mother OR a father.
If you anticipate being a party in a paternity case in Miami, Florida, you should be aware of Administrative Order 14-13, which applies to cases where the unmarried parents of a child have an established timesharing arrangement, regardless of whether the arrangement is in writing. To get a copy of the Order, click this link (will open as a pdf) at the Eleventh Judicial Circuit site. If you live in any other Florida counties, you should check that county’s court website page to see if they have a similar order.
What the Court Decides in a Paternity Case
Regardless of whether you are the mother or the father who files the paternity case, the Court will decide the following questions:
- The paternity of the child, meaning whether the father in the case is actually the father via DNA testing;
- Parental responsibility of the child;
- Child support amount to be paid; and
- Time sharing with the child for the parent with whom the child is not currently living or sharing time.
The Process of Filing a Paternity Case
Paternity cases share some of the processes and procedures with divorces such as:
- Formally filing a paternity case in family court. This is done by filing a petition to establish paternity, time-sharing and child support.
- Service of process on the other party, whether the mother or the father.
- Once paternity petition is served, the parent who has been served has 20 days to file an answer. If you are the parent served, you may also file a counter-petition.
- The establishment of a parenting plan for time-sharing with the child.
- The calculation of child support to be paid pursuant to the Florida child support guidelines.
- A trial if the case is contested.
Just as in a divorce, parties in a paternity can enter into an agreement or go to trial. If the parents agree, then the case is concluded as uncontested paternity, meaning there is no litigation. If, for some reason, the parents do not agree, then a final hearing will have to be scheduled, just like in a contested divorce case.
Costs in a Paternity Case
Court Fees in a Paternity Case:
The fee to open or file a paternity case in Miami’s Family Court is $301.00, payable directly to the Clerk of Courts. The Clerk also charges an additional $10.00 for each defendant/respondent who will be served with the paternity petition.
If you are served with a petition to determine paternity and want to file your own counter-petition, you will have to pay a filing fee as well. At this time, the filing fee for a counter-petition is $295.00.
Attorney’s Fees:
In a paternity case, you are not entitled to free legal representation. Sometimes, you may qualify for free legal help from an organization. If you do not qualify, then you will have to hire an attorney to represent you in the case or represent yourself.
For services in a paternity case, I offer two options. The first is the traditional hourly billing. The other is a flat fee for the entire case.
If you would like a case assessment session for specific advice on your paternity case, please call 305-710-9419 or complete this form and I will call you back within 1 business day.