Atlanta Legitimation Attorney

Not all couples are married before they begin having children. While the birth of a child may be one of the most exciting times in your life, it is important to ensure your rights as a father are established. When a child is born out of wedlock, the father’s legal rights regarding the child may not be established without legitimation. This is especially important for families struggling with substance abuse and addiction. Without establishing your rights, it may be far more difficult to protect yourself and your child.

Working with a compassionate Atlanta legitimation attorney from Chambers Family Law may be the best way to safeguard your relationship and rights with your child or children. With nearly 40 years of experience advocating for families throughout Georgia, you can rest easier knowing your legitimation petition is in our hands.

Contact our team to request a confidential consultation and learn more about the differences between legitimation and paternity, how to get a legitimation order, and your rights once the court legitimates your child.

 

Paternity and Legitimation are Similar but Different

There are many misconceptions regarding paternity and legitimation. Although there are some similarities in that both are used when the parents are not married, they serve different purposes. Most importantly, paternity is used by the mother to establish the parentage of the child’s father while legitimation is used by the father to make the child legitimate, to establish rights to the child and to allow the child to inherit from the father.

Paternity in Atlanta

Paternity under O.C.G.A. § 19-7-40(a) is defined as the legal acknowledgment of a child’s father. This is arguably the most important factor used by a mother to secure and enforce a child support order. Paternity can be established for unmarried parents in several ways, including:

• DNA testing
• Both parents signing a voluntary paternity acknowledgment form to acknowledge one parent as the biological father
• The father consenting to have their name listed on the child’s birth certificate

Legitimation in Atlanta

While paternity only establishes parentage and support, legitimation establishes a father’s legal rights. Once paternity has been acknowledged, if the father wants to have any rights to the child, then it is crucial to move forward with legitimation to help ensure you can play an active role in your child’s upbringing and to establish custodial rights. Under O.C.G.A § 19-11-14, a father must “legitimate” the child before they can seek parenting time or child custody rights.

This is because biological fathers only have parental, legal, and custodial rights if they are married to the child’s mother when the child is born. The advantages of legitimation are undeniable, and include:

• The child being able to inherit from the father
• The right of a father to spend quality time with and raise your child
• Access to the father’s medical history
• The ability for the child to obtain health insurance, veteran’s benefits, or Social Security under the father

How to Prove Paternity and Secure an Order of Legitimation

Your Atlanta legitimation attorney from Chambers Family Law can guide you through the process of securing a legitimation order for your child. Until this order is established, your child’s mother has all legal, parenting, visitation and custody rights. She has the right to deny you visitation even if you are providing child support. For this reason, it is important to begin the legitimation process as soon as possible.

Once there is no doubt that  you are the biological  father of the child, we can file a petition for legitimation on your behalf. By providing all necessary evidence to support your case, we may be able to avoid a trial altogether. Once legitimation is granted, your  custody and parenting rights will be established. Keep in mind that there is no presumption of custody that favors the child’s mother under Georgia family law statutes.

Your Rights After Legitimation

Once your child’s paternity and legitimation have been established, expect to take on all the responsibilities that come with being a father. You will now have the right to petition the court for custody and visitation rights. This way, you can continue to spend quality time with your child and play an active role in raising them and be part of all decisions regarding their upbringing.

You can also fight to secure legal custody rights. Here, your child’s mother will need to work with you to make important decisions regarding your child’s upbringing, including where they go to school, medical decisions, extracurricular activities they participate in, their religious upbringing, and more.

Additionally, you will need to ensure you are providing for your child financially. This does not necessarily mean you will be expected to pay child support. If you maintain primary physical custody of your child, this may involve petitioning the court to get an active child support order in place that will require your child’s parent to provide financial support as well.

How an Atlanta Legitimation Lawyer with Chambers Family Law Can Help

If all you need to do is file a petition for paternity and legitimation, you may be wondering whether you really need to hire an Atlanta family law attorney to help you navigate the process. When you choose to work with our team at Chambers Family Law, you can expect us to:

• Ensure you are in compliance with Georgia’s paternity protocols
• Aid in establishing paternity with appropriate DNA testing
• Verify the accuracy of legitimation documentation
• Provide the family courts with the evidence they need to formally document paternity and legitimation
• Assist in mediating your child’s custody and visitation plans with your child’s other parent
• Ensure your questions and concerns are not only heard but addressed
• Protect the best interests of your child

Frequently Asked Questions about Legitimation

It is easy to be confused by paternity, legitimation, and Georgia’s nuanced family laws. When you are hesitant about filing a petition to legitimize your child, you may have many unanswered questions about how the process works and what to expect once your petition is filed.

For that reason, our Atlanta legitimation attorneys with Chambers Family Law have included a quick FAQ below that details the answers to some of the top questions regarding legitimation, paternity, and family laws regarding unwed parents. If you have additional questions or concerns we do not cover here, please contact our law office for the personalized answers you need when you need them most.

I’m not married and having a baby, now what?

When you are the father and are not married to the biological mother and having a baby, it is important to understand how Georgia’s child custody, support, and parenting rights work. Whether you are in a happy relationship or have concerns that it may ultimately fall apart, legitimizing your child upon their birth should be a top priority.

This is because, in the state of Georgia, fathers will only have automatic rights to their children if they are married to the child’s mother. Unwed fathers do not have any rights to child custody or visitation, even if they are paying child support to the child’s mother. However, once you have established legitimation, you can secure your rights and ensure you get the parenting time you are entitled to so you can be there for your child.

As the father, am I going to get less parenting time?

Not necessarily. In the past, fathers may have settled for every other weekend with their children. However, these days, more and more fathers are taking an active role in their child’s upbringing. More importantly, the courts now want to award more time for children to spend with fathers. Once you have obtained a legitimation order for your child, you can move forward with your child custody case.

The Georgia family courts recognize that it is typically in the best interests of the children to have as much parenting time with both parents as possible. For this reason, it is unlikely you will get less parenting time than your child’s other parent unless you pose a threat to their safety or well-being. Ultimately, you can work with your child’s mother to come to a parenting plan and child custody arrangement that works for your family. This could include a wide variety of parenting plans, such as:

• Alternating weeks
• Weekend visits
• Visits every other weekend
• Mid-week overnights
• Shared holidays
• Mutual custody schedules
• Participating in decisions regarding your child

If you are unable to come to an acceptable and fair arrangement together, then the decision will be left up to the court. It is always preferable not to have a family court judge step in unless absolutely necessary. They do not know you, your children, or your child’s other parent.  No one knows your children better than you. If you are having trouble working out a parenting plan, do not hesitate to consult our Atlanta child custody lawyers with Chambers Family Law for help.

How long will I have to pay child support with a legitimation order?

Generally, once your child has been legitimized, child support will be ordered until the child reaches the age of 18. However, there are some exceptions. If your child becomes emancipated, enrolls in the military, or gets married with your permission, child support could be terminated early. However, if your child is still in high school, child support should continue, even if they are over the age of 18 according to the Georgia Department of Health Services’ Division of Child Support Services, in which case child support would continue until your child turns 20 or graduates from high school, whichever happens first. If either parent is finding it difficult to make child support payments or believes there should be a modification to the existing child support order, modification petitions can be filed by requesting a review of the child support order after the court order is implemented.

Get Help from a Reputable Atlanta Legitimation Attorney Today

When you have a knowledgeable and highly experienced legitimation lawyer in Atlanta helping you establish your rights, legitimation does not need to be overwhelming. Though the risks are high, with Chambers Family Law advocating for the best interest of your child and protecting your rights, you can feel confident petitioning the court to legitimate your child.

This is your opportunity to build a strong and lasting relationship with your child and ensure you have the opportunity to spend as much quality time with them as possible while asserting your child custody and visitation rights. When it comes to your family, having the right legal advocate can make all the difference. Fill out our contact form or call our office to schedule your confidential case evaluation now.