P-E-A-C-E in a Paternity Action

A paternity action involves the establishment of the legal right of a parent, and on the other hand, the legal obligation of the other parent, to provide for the care and raising of a child mutually conceived by the parties, adopted by the parties or recognized by the parties as their own during their marriage, cohabitation or relationship.

In some instances, the parties do not dispute the legal obligation, but need assistance in settling the financial issue involved. These mediation tend to be very high charged, or at least emotional. A good mediator will help to quell those emotions and let the parties vent their frustrations and move forward to handle "the business at hand", being the best interest of the child. These mediations may involve the inclusion of forensic evidence to establish if in fact the child is the responsibility of the "father". In Florida, an irrebuttable presumption exists that if a party does not contest paternity within a year of the child's birth, they cannot, absent, in limited circumstances, to the showing of fraud--- a very high standard.

During this type of mediation, the main focus will be to identify the issues which a party feels are in the best interest of the child and to reach an agreement on each issue that the parties can agree is fair and reasonable---acceptable to each party. These mediations tend to be more emotionally charged as one party will claim they have a right which has been ignored, trivialized or violated.

As mediators, we do not make decisions: We are NOT judges nor are we present to make personal decision for either party. Instead, we are a neutral party who helps the parties understand their differences, reach an agreement and move on with their lives, knowing they have addressed the issues which arose during their relationship.

The culmination of that effort is the preparation of support agreement and/or final judgment of paternity. During mediation, we will prepare those documents, with, if present, the assistance of your attorneys or advisors.

Some parties are able to conclude all the matters at that time; some who come without an attorney or advisor request sometime to have it reviewed by an attorney-a reasonable request.

Both parties must agree to ALL TERMS of these agreements. Ultimately both parties will file the agreement which is presented to the court as part of the divorce petition.

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