Tucson Family Lawyers Protecting Fathers’ Rights in Divorce & Custody Proceedings

At Benavidez Law Group, P.C., we provide fathers with legal support and guidance during divorce and custody proceedings, and also handle paternity matters on behalf of clients in the Tucson area. Whether you are seeking custody, parenting time or if you are having child support issues, you can trust that we will aggressively stand up for your rights as a father.

Fathers’ Rights Issues During Divorce

In the past, divorce often meant that fathers could no longer actively participate in their children’s lives due to limited child custody and parenting time. Today, however, there is more awareness regarding the importance of a father’s role in child rearing, including the ability to make decisions about a child’s care, education and welfare. With father’s rights gaining more prominence, an increasing number of fathers are being awarded joint custody, and some may become their child’s custodial parent, in which case the father has the right to ask for child support from the mother.

The family law attorneys at the Benavidez Law Group, P.C., have experience handling fathers’ rights cases. We have helped fathers obtain fair custody and child support arrangements during divorce proceedings, and have also handled cases in which a mother improperly interfered with a father-child relationship.

Paternity

Some fathers mistakenly believe that if their name is on the birth certificate, then paternity has been established and they have the same rights and obligations with respect to the child as the mother. Other fathers mistakenly believe that if their name is not on the birth certificate, then they do not have any obligation to support the child born to them. Both of these misconceptions have resulted in unfortunate situations for fathers in the past, but these pitfalls can be easily avoided with some planning and preparation in a paternity matter.

If you are not married to the mother of your child, you should file an Acknowledgement of Paternity with the court, together with an Order for the court to sign. It is also a good idea to have a Joint Parenting Plan in place that sets forth each parent’s respective rights and obligations with regard to child rearing. In addition, you should have written Child Support Orders filed with the court if you live separately from your child.

Pending the establishment of paternity, a court can order a man to pay support for a child if it finds there is a reasonable basis to presume that the man is the child’s natural father. This can sometimes result in a man paying support for a child later determined not to be his own, or even when he does not have the right to make legal decisions for the child or the right to spend parenting time with the child. We have represented potential fathers in these situations, working to protect their rights during paternity proceedings and beyond.

Contact Us to Protect Your Rights as a Father

Find out how the Benavidez Law Group, P.C. can help protect your rights as a father and the best interests of your children. Contact our offices in Tucson to schedule a consultation. Hablamos español.