Palatine Paternity Lawyer

Family Attorney Nicholas W. Richardson Handles Your Parentage Legal Issues

Are you a birth mother seeking to establish paternity to make sure your child will receive child support or other types of financial assistance? Are you a biological father seeking to establish parental rights through the legal process of paternity so you can enjoy a prominent role in your child's life with custody or visitation? Are you concerned about your ability to have a reasonable amount of time with your child? In Illinois, a father who is not married to his child's mother may not have the right to share legal or physical custody of the child until he is named as a legal parent through a court order. Establishing paternity will protect a father's parental rights, and it may also establish support obligations.

An experienced family law and paternity attorney can provide advice and guidance on how the law applies in your situation, and they can also help you pursue a court order that will legally establish parent-child relationships and obligations of a father toward a child. For help with issues related to paternity, contact The Law Office of Nicholas W. Richardson, P.C., serving clients in Chicago's Northwest Suburbs.

Nicholas W. Richardson will work closely with you during your case and ensure that you are prepared to address your concerns. He will explain your best options that will help you achieve your goals, and he will help create realistic plans that will allow you and your child to move forward with your lives and build positive relationships. He can help you formulate a winning legal strategy, create the proper documents, and represent you in court during any litigation that may be necessary. Call our office today at 847.873.6741 to set up your free initial consultation.

Benefits of Establishing Paternity

By verifying the identity of a child's biological father and establishing paternity, family members can realize multiple benefits, including:

• Determining child support obligations
• Providing a non-custodial parent with regular parenting time with the child
• Establishing the child's legal standing as an heir to their father's estate
• Giving the child rights to health insurance coverage and the ability to access family medical information
• Providing the child with rights to receive death benefits through Social Security, workers' compensation, or other sources
• Helping parents determine how to address the allocation of parental responsibilities

Paternity can be established voluntarily if the mother and father agree to do so, and they can sign and file a form that will name a person as the child's legal parent. If the identity of the father is in dispute, or if the parents cannot agree to name a person as a legal parent, either party may pursue a paternity action in family court. In these cases, a judge will usually order DNA testing, and once the identity of the biological father has been verified, a court order will be issued establishing legal parentage. The parents can then address concerns related to child custody, child support, or other issues that affect the child.

Contact Our Barrington Paternity Attorney

Attorney Richardson helps clients find workable solutions that will protect important family relationships. He works to pursue peaceful and amicable agreements when possible, but he can also provide aggressive representation in court when necessary. Contact us today by calling 847.873.6741 to speak with Nicholas W. Richardson and learn how you can benefit from his knowledge and experience. He serves clients in Palatine, Barrington, Schaumburg, Rolling Meadows, Cook County, and DuPage County.