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Paternity and Child Custody in Divorce Cases

The Law Offices of Ronald K. StitchNovember 17, 2021

Filing for divorce can be daunting. As marital issues rise and further complicate your desire to depart from a marriage, financial and emotional well-being are drained. It is important to be fully knowledgeable about some of the caveats in child custody cases – including paternity tests. Reach out to a Westlake Village divorce attorney at the Law Offices of Ronald K. Stitch today to learn more about your options while filing a divorce.

Why Prove Paternity?

There are many reasons why a mother and father may want to prove paternity during a divorce. Complicated matters begin to arise when topics of child care, support, and visitation are brought up for debate. For these reasons, certain cases might require a paternity test in order to better inform a divorce.

  • Avoiding child support is a common reason that many people choose to request paternity tests. In many cases, men will claim that they are not the actual father to the child in question to simply avoid paying the mother-child support. On the other hand, the man may want to prove he is not the actual father so he is not forced to pay child support by the courts.
  • Emotional health is another reason to find out who the actual father of the child is. It may be the case that the family is unsure and wants closure, feeling the need to prove that the man in question is the father to the child. In any case, many adults want to prove or disprove their paternity for their own peace of mind.
  • Paternal rights may grant the father visitation, partial custody, or more if the mother attempts to claim that the father is not the biological father of the child. This is common in cases in which the mother wants full custody of the child and desires to cut the father out of the picture completely. This situation is a particularly common reason for fathers to request paternity tests.

Custody in California

Custody is a hard topic to discuss within a divorcing family. The conversation usually revolves around two possible outcomes regarding the fate of the child: sole custody and joint custody. In most cases, family courts award joint custody as it is widely believed that children benefit from having both parents present in their lives.

The minority of cases result in sole custody. Sole custody, also known as full child custody, is a much less common arrangement with divorcing families. The two main types of sole custody include sole physical custody and sole legal custody. Sole physical custody means that a child lives with one parent and only that parent. Sole legal custody is when only one parent has the legal right to make decisions for a child. Usually, sole custody is requested when one parent believes the other is unfit to take care of a child.

Your Go-To Westlake Divorce Attorney

The questions of divorce, custody, and paternity are difficult ones. While many people struggle during this process both financially and emotionally, the Law Offices of Ronald K. Stitch are here to help. By reaching out to a Westlake Village divorce attorney, you will be ensuring that your divorce and question of child custody are handled with ease. Reach out to us today at 818-237-4574 or by clicking here for a free consultation.

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