The issue of paternity is an important one. Not only does it matter emotionally, but it is also an incredibly important legal (and financial) issue that impacts significant rights and obligations. In cases where paternity is not definitively known, determining who the father is as quickly as possible can be crucially important. Until recently those… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Paternity
Subscribe to Paternity RSS FeedU.S. Supreme Court Will Hear South Carolina’s “Baby Veronica” Case
Posted in Child Custody, Children, PaternityThe United States Supreme Court recently revealed that it would hear a hotly contested child custody case out of South Carolina this April. The case, Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl (commonly referred to as the “Baby Veronica” case), deals with a 2012 South Carolina Supreme Court opinion that wrestled with the parental rights of a toddler… Continue Reading
Ohio Man Behind On Child Support Ordered Not To Procreate By Family Court Judge
Posted in Child Support, Children, Contempt of Court, Financial Issues, PaternityA recent incident in Ohio shows the frustration one judge felt when dealing with a father who was in arrears on the support owed to several children. Even court orders didn’t appear to be enough to get the man to keep up with his obligations, and the judge was pushed to the brink. Sometimes there… Continue Reading
Florida Judge Allows Unconventional Birth Certificate Listing Three Parents
Posted in PaternityIn a very interesting case out of Florida, a judge recently signed off on a birth certificate listing three people as parents to a 23-month-old girl. Another twist, the parents were a lesbian couple and their gay male friend. The recent decision brings about resolution to a nearly two-year long fight between the three parents. … Continue Reading
Indiana Man Required to Support Artificially Conceived Children
Posted in Child Support, Children, Financial Issues, Medical Issues, Paternity, Relationships, TechnologyAccording to a court in Indiana, one man going through a recent divorce must pay child support for his son and daughter even though they were conceived via artificial insemination from another man’s sperm. The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected the man’s argument that he should not have to pay child support given that his… Continue Reading
Legitimation of Children in South Carolina
Posted in Child Custody, Child Support, Children, Paternity, VisitationHere in South Carolina, child custody and visitation disputes can become complicated if the children at issue were born out of wedlock. There are several different avenues for establishing parentage in the state. The most traditional option occurs if the parents of a child get married then the paternity of the father is established automatically. If… Continue Reading
Custody Fight Revolves Around Whether Woman is the Mother or Merely a Surrogate
Posted in Child Custody, Child Support, Children, Communication, Medical Issues, Paternity, Relationships, VisitationAs many people realize, whether you are part of a traditional marriage, in a same-sex relationship, or a single person who has always wanted a child, there are now many more options than there used to be for raising children. One option that has been utilized by those who have had trouble conceiving is in… Continue Reading
California Considers Law Permitting More Than Two Parents
Posted in Child Custody, Children, Paternity, RelationshipsCalifornia, a state grappling with a wide array of legal issues surrounding alternative families, has added one more to the mix. A recent bill, SB1476, would allow children to be legally granted more than two parents. As written the bill would apply equally to men and women, regardless of whether they were in homosexual or heterosexual… Continue Reading
Court in Pennsylvania Awards Wife Custody of Frozen Embryos
Posted in Child Custody, Children, Medical Issues, Paternity, Relationships, SeparationAccording to a recent story on Philly.com, one Pennsylvania woman was recently made happy by winning custody over the frozen, fertilized eggs her ex-husband wanted to see destroyed. The recent decision by a Pennsylvania appeals court that upheld a lower court’ ruling in a Chester County divorce case. In the case a three-judge Superior Court panel said… Continue Reading
Can I Change my Child’s Name?
Posted in Children, Paternity, ProcedureOur firm frequently helps clients with issues concerning their children’s names. Unmarried parents often want to change the child’s birth name – whether to the Father’s surname or to the Mother’s surname. Married parents sometimes want to change the children’s names during or after a divorce, especially if the marriage is of short duration. Teenagers… Continue Reading
Can I Change My Child’s Last Name to My New Married Name?
Posted in Children, Paternity, ProcedureQuestion: I have custody of my child, and we live in South Carolina. The child’s father lives in another state, and he pays child support and visits with our child. Our child was given my maiden name as his last name when he was born. I have remarried, and I now want to change the child’s… Continue Reading
New Appellate Case Addresses Importance of Voluntary Parental Consent in Adoption Cases
Posted in Children, Paternity, ProcedureThe South Carolina Supreme Court recently decided a case that addressed the importance of obtaining voluntary parent consent in adoption cases. This case also included a thorough discussion of the relinquishment law in our state, particularly when compared with that of surrounding states. In McCann v. Doe, the Court held that abundant evidence existed to… Continue Reading
Terminatinating The Parental Rights of The Disabled
Posted in Children, Paternity, Procedure, RelationshipsIn its recent decision, South Carolina Dept. of Social Services v. Mother, the S.C. Court of Appeals affirmed the Family Court’s termination of the mother’s parental rights to her daughter. The appellate court rejected the mother’s argument that the Department of Social Services had not properly provided services to accommodate her condition of mild mental… Continue Reading
Law Review Articles on Paternity
Posted in PaternityIf you are interested in scholarly articles on the topic of paternity, the following law review article digests, compiled by Nancy Ver Steegh in her "Annual Survey of Periodical Literature" published in the Family Law Quarterly, Vol 40, No 4, Winter 2007: Nancy E. Dowd, "Fathers and the Supreme Court: Founding Fathers and Nurturing Fathers,"… Continue Reading
Psychological Parents in South Carolina
Posted in Child Custody, Children, Paternity, Psychological Issues, Relationships, VisitationA psychological (or de facto) parent can be defined as a person who has, on a day-to-day basis, undertaken a parental role through interaction, companionship, interplay, and mutuality, that fulfills a child’s physical and psychological needs and provides for a child’s emotional and financial support. South Carolina has adopted a four-prong test for determining whether… Continue Reading
Child Support When The Child Is Not Yours
Posted in Child Support, PaternityFor many people, conceiving a child is easy, but figuring out who should pay child support for that child can be complicated. In South Carolina, if a child is born during a marriage, the husband is presumed to be the legal father of that child. If the wife had an adulterous affair, the husband will… Continue Reading
Termination of Parental Rights Due to Diagnosable Condition
Posted in Children, Paternity, Procedure, RelationshipsThe South Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed a Family Court Order terminating a mother’s parental rights. In this case, the Court found that she had a diagnosable condition not likely to change within a reasonable time which makes her unlikely to provide minimally acceptable care for the child and that the termination of her parental… Continue Reading
Are courts more likely to award custody to mothers than to fathers?
Posted in Child Custody, Children, PaternityIn the past, most states provided that custody of children of “tender years” (about five and under) had to be awarded to the mother when parents divorced. In most states, this rule has either been rejected entirely or relegated to the role of tie-breaker if two otherwise fit parents request custody of their preschool children…. Continue Reading
Paternity Actions
Posted in Child Support, PaternityA paternity action, a court suit filed to have a man declared the father of a child, can be brought by either the mother or the father. Paternity actions are sometimes called establishment hearings, filiation hearings, or parentage actions. Most paternity actions are initiated by welfare officials who provide TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families)… Continue Reading
Who is legally recognized as a child’s father?
Posted in Child Support, Paternity, Psychological Issues, RelationshipsThe question “Who is the father?” is not as simple a question as you might think. There are important legal distinctions between different situations. Acknowledged Father An acknowledged father is any biological father of a child born to unmarried parents for whom paternity has been established by either the admission of the father or the… Continue Reading