Paternity Lawyer on Long Island

Legal Assistance for Paternity Issues

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If you are a seeking financial support for the care of your child and the father disputes paternity, or if you wish to assert your rights as a father, our firm can arrange voluntary DNA testing or file a paternity claim in family court to compel testing. The DNA test will determine with certainty whether a man is the father of your child or not.

If paternity is proven through the DNA testing, our knowledgeable attorneys can help with the petitions to legally establish parentage and determine child support. We can also represent either party in seeking or challenging visitation or custody. Having an experienced and skilled Long Island family lawyer will enable you to handle this situation confidently and quickly.

Challenging Paternity in New York

You have various options if you wish to deny paternity. If the DNA test comes back negative (and you are not married to the mother), the paternity claim will be dismissed. However, if the test is positive, the mother can seek future support payments as well as unpaid child support payments retroactive to the date of birth. Our office can represent you in negotiations to reduce or defer arrears ordered by the court and, if desired, represent you in proceedings to establish parental rights.

New York law presumes that any child born during your marriage is yours. If you now suspect you are not the real father, you have a short window to seek a DNA test to prove that the child is not your child. Generally, you must challenge paternity before the child is one year old, but exceptions may apply. Even if the mother lied about you being the father, you may not be able to "undo" paternity.

New York’s highest court has ruled that it would not be in the child's best interest to terminate the parental relationship of a man who discovered several years later he was not the biological father. This is referred to as paternity by estoppels — you are "stopped" from denying parental responsibility, even if a DNA test proves the child is not yours! As you can see, it is very important to consult with a qualified family law attorney as soon as this issue comes to light. It could impact the rest of your life.