Domestic violence can take a number of forms, including:

No, in Florida, the victim of an abusive live-in lover can obtain a Temporary Restraining Order or Emergency Protective Order. The victim of any adult relative, an abusive lover (non-live-in) or even a roommate can obtain such an order. To learn more about help for victims of domestic violence in Florida, contact a local crisis intervention center, social service organization or battered women's shelter (shelters are in place for both men and women who have been abused).

A legal presumption arises that the husband is, in fact, the father, when a child is born to a married couple. This is not true with unmarried couples. Establishing paternity is important for unmarried couples in the event that they break up and the father seeks time sharing or the mother seeks child support, for inheritance purposes, and for a variety of other reasons.

If the parties get married after the mother becomes pregnant but before the birth, the husband's paternity is presumed in the same manner as if the parents were married at the time of conception. If the parents marry after the child is born, they can sign a legitimation form, which grants the father the same rights as if the parents were married at the time of birth the child.

Even if parents never marry, paternity can be established voluntarily when the parents are certain of the father's identity. The father must be certain that, in fact, he is the biological parent of the child. I have had cases where the client/father was "certain" that he was the father and after being encouraged to take a paternity test (DNA testing) he was shocked to find out that he was not the biological father of the child.

If the father is sure that he is the father the parties may sign a legal form called a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity, or something similar, and then file the form with the court or appropriate state agency. Executing this voluntary acknowledgement can be done right in the hospital following the child's birth, or any time thereafter. Be careful, signing these documents will cause the father to become financially responsible for the child. The father's name is then included on the child's birth certificate.

Even if a voluntary acknowledgement is not signed, the parties may later enter into an agreement with the help and advice of their attorneys that establishes the child's paternity and resolves time sharing and support issues without having to fight paternity in court.

If neither of these voluntary procedures is an option, legal action may be necessary through the filing of a Petition to Establish Paternity. A mother may file the paternity action to establish that the man she believes to be her child's father, in fact is, or is not the biological parent. Oftentimes the mother is receiving public assistance, the state may initiate the action in order to recover its costs from the father, through the Department of Revenue.

The putative (probable), father's presence in court will be necessary, and the putative father may be required to submit to DNA testing if he contests his paternity. If genetic blood testing is Ordered the results are usually available within a few weeks. Those results can establish (or negate) paternity with about 99 percent accuracy. If paternity is established in this manner, the court will enter an order regarding the father's paternity. The father then becomes legally obligated to pay child support according to the state's guidelines, which are generally based on both parents' incomes and the needs of the children. A father may initiate legal action to establish his own paternity.

At any time in this process prior to entry of the court's order, the parties may still enter into an agreement that resolves the time sharing and financial issues relating to the child. In most instances, a father is legally required to provide financial support to his children, so it is imperative to have the assistance of an experienced attorney during these proceedings. The financial consequences are long lasting, oftentimes for eighteen years or more.

Once paternity has been established, the child obtains many legal rights beyond child support. The child can inherit from his or her father, is eligible for health insurance coverage under the father's group policy, is entitled to social security benefits if the father dies or becomes disabled, may be entitled to wrongful death benefits if the father dies as a result of someone else's negligence, and can obtain medical history information, to say nothing of the emotional benefits — to both the father and the child that may be enjoyed as a result of establishing paternity.

Most times yes. When a mother is not married there are sometimes questions as to who the child's legal father is for purposes of support.

An "acknowledged father" is a person whom the paternity of the child(ren) has been established by either the admission of the father or the agreement of the parents. Once an acknowledged father there is a duty to pay child support.

Yes. Child support and time sharing are two separate and distinct issues. Each parent has an obligation to support his or her child(ren). With one narrow exception, Florida law does not allow a parent to withhold support because of disputes over time sharing. There is an exception, and that is if a parent disappears for a lengthy period so that the other parent cannot enjoy their time sharing rights with the child(ren), the courts have ruled that the noncustodial parent's duty to pay child support may be temporarily suspended.

No matter what the circumstances, if you believe that your former spouse/mother of the child is interfering with your time sharing rights, the appropriate remedy is to return to court to have your rights enforced. Do not stop making support payments.

The child's biological parents or adoptive parents must support a child until: