Florida’s Senate approved SB 1022 two days ago on January 10, 2018 by a vote of 10 to 0. The bill authorizes a child, a child’s mother, or a child’s alleged parent to file a petition in circuit court to rebut the presumption of legal parentage.
For instance, in a case where a father doubts his paternity of a child, rather than being told by a court of family law he needs to pay child custody, he has a right to file a petition to establish his actual legal parentage.
This law requires the court to appoint a guardian ad litem or an attorney ad litem under certain conditions, specifying a 95% probability of parentage or more creates a rebuttable presumption that the alleged parent is a biological parent.
If a person’s parentage is in question, he has the right to verify his genetic connection to the child through genetic testing ordered by the court. Likewise, if a person’s parentage is assumed, in some circumstances, a biological father has a right to intervene and rebut legal parentage.
While the bill is still in the Florida Legislature, the law goes into effect on July 1, 2018. For more information, visit the Florida Legislature website here.
If you’re unsure how the law relates to your case, or you would like to establish paternity of your child, talk to one of our skilled Jacksonville family law attorneys. Owenby Law, P.A. is an experienced law firm that can provide the compassionate and personalized advocacy you need. We have decades of combined legal experience to offer your case. We are known for assisting families throughout Jacksonville, Florida, with all kinds of family law issues. Let us see what we can do to help you and your family reach your legal goals.
Contact us at (904) 770-3141 or fill out our online form to schedule a free 30-minute case consultation today.