Parental Rights

Cleveland, Ohio, Parental Rights and Paternity Lawyer

Laws related to parental rights become even more complicated when the individuals who have had a child are not married. Paternity must be formally established and the rights of both the birth father and birth mother need to be protected.

Rights of the Birth Father

Often a birth father is not even aware that he has a child. If such was your case, and you recently learned of your child or the impending birth of your child, then you should hire a devoted family law attorney to secure your rights as a father. I can provide that representation. If your paternity is being disputed by the birth mother or her family, we will immediately move to prove paternity.

If paternity tests show that you are the father of the child, you have parental rights. As your advocate, I will passionately and proactively defend those rights. We will take the steps necessary to secure a custody or visitation arrangement. Any efforts to place the child up for adoption must be stopped in a timely manner.

Birth fathers must be certain not to delay in pursuing their aforementioned claims, as Ohio has enacted the putative father registry, which effectively eliminates birth father rights regardless of the pregnancy. The time limits under the registry are extremely short, so birth fathers should seek their desired legal aid as soon as possible.

Rights of the Birth or Surrogate Mothers

As the birth mother, you have rights and responsibilities following the birth of your child. If your objective is to place the child up for adoption or have the child placed in foster care, I will assist you with that difficult decision. The best interests of my client are my primary focus. I will assist you in constructing the best child plan possible.

The choice to raise the child yourself also requires that the birth father be aware of his paternity. He is responsible for supporting his child. I can help you address his financial responsibility. I will do everything I can to locate him and notify him of his paternity and obligation.

For more information or to schedule a free consultation to discuss your rights as a birth parent, please contact me.