Adoption and Paternity Lawyers in Davis County, Utah Helping Your Family Grow

The law defines the legal relationship between parents and children, and how that relationship is defined under the law can be critical in many ways, from rights of inheritance and dependant insurance coverage, to just being legally recognized as a part of the family to which you belong. Adoption and paternity proceedings can be exciting times for the people involved, but they also involve long-term or permanent decisions with far-reaching consequences. The paternity and adoption attorneys at Diumenti & Leger are here to make sure your goals are met and that your rights are respected and fairly represented throughout the process.

Help with Adoptions in Davis County, UT

Adoptions may be accomplished through a public agency or private agency, and may be local or even international, with different laws, rules and levels of complexity depending upon the type of adoption. While an adoption is typically a happy event for the adopting family, it does result in the termination of parental rights of the child's natural parents, if they are living. Adoptions may be contested or uncontested. In either case, help from knowledgeable adoption attorneys in Bountiful can be instrumental in making sure the adoption proceeds as smoothly and successfully as possible.

When children are removed from the home due to child abuse or neglect, the parental rights of the biological parents may be terminated in judicial proceedings. Where the court believes adoption is in the child's best interest, and an adoptive family is available, the court may proceed with an adoption once parental rights have been terminated. In fact, about one in every five cases of child abuse or neglect in Utah end with the child who was removed being adopted. As family law attorneys who deal with domestic violence and dependency hearings, our firm is knowledgeable in the process needed to secure an adoption in these circumstances.

One of the most common types of adoption is the stepparent adoption, where the stepfather adopts his wife's children from a previous marriage. As with other types of adoption, a stepparent adoption requires the termination of parental rights of the child's biological father, while at the same time vesting all of those legal rights and responsibilities officially with the stepfather.

Understanding Utah Paternity Law

Under Utah law, when a couple is married at the time a child is born, the husband is presumed to be the child's father. That presumption may be overcome, however, if someone else challenges the husband's paternity. In that case, genetic testing may be employed to prove the child's parentage. If the parents are unmarried when the child is born, they can establish paternity by signing a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity and filing it with the state or by bringing a paternity proceeding in court or in the Office of Recovery Services.

Establishing paternity can be critical to enforcing a father's right to custody and parent time, as well as establishing and enforcing the obligation to pay child support. Establishing parentage can be critical to enforcing a child's rights to inheritance as well as Social Security, veteran's benefits and other government benefits. A child's citizenship can be affected depending upon parentage, and establishing paternity can be critical for children to know their family medical history. As with adoption, establishing paternity in one person can work to terminate parental rights in another. Paternity proceedings are often contested or adversarial, and the assistance of experienced paternity lawyers can be crucial to your success.

Get Help Today in a Davis County Adoption or Paternity Proceeding

If you are contemplating or are involved in a Davis County adoption or paternity proceeding, contact Diumenti & Leger in Bountiful for sound advice and effective assistance.