Practice areas
Paternity
Being a parent in fact should mean being a parent in law.
What this covers
Legal parentage, enforceable parental rights, a parenting plan, and child support for unmarried parents.
Your first step
Clarify what has already been signed or filed and what parenting arrangement exists today.
Typical timing
Cooperative matters can move efficiently; testing or disputed parenting issues can extend the case.
Establish my parental rights →Every parent deserves legal certainty — and every child deserves the support and involvement of both parents. Paternity actions establish who the legal father is, what time-sharing looks like, and how support flows.
Whether you are a father securing your rights or a mother securing support, we handle it directly, quickly, and without drama.
The approach
How the firm handles this
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Establish paternity properly
A name on the birth certificate is not full legal fatherhood in Florida. We file the paternity action that gives you enforceable rights — or that secures support if you are the mother.
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Secure a parenting plan
Once paternity is established, unmarried parents need the same complete time-sharing plan as divorcing ones — schedule, decision-making, holidays, travel.
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Set support both directions
Paternity cases carry the same guideline support rules as divorce, including retroactive support in many cases. We make sure the numbers are right from the start.
Common questions
Asked in almost every consultation
I signed the birth certificate — do I have custody rights?
Not by itself. In Florida, an unmarried father needs to establish paternity through the court (or updated statutory acknowledgment procedures) to have enforceable time-sharing and decision-making rights. Until then, the mother has sole natural guardianship.
Can paternity be established if the father refuses testing?
Yes. The court can order genetic testing, and refusing it has consequences. Paternity actions move forward with or without cooperation.
Is there a deadline for retroactive child support?
Florida allows retroactive support back to when the parents stopped living together — capped at 24 months before filing. Every month you wait can be money lost, in either direction.
Talk to someone who has won this fight before.
“I just want to say thank you to Mrs Veronica, Mr Alcides Martinez , Mrs Yasmin n Mr Pablo . For the effort they put in my divorce, a great team that work so diligent for me …”