Articles Posted in Paternity

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An extended family member such as a relative in the third degree by blood or marriage to the parent of a stepparent of a child currently married to a parent may have a lawyer file an action under Florida law to seek temporary custody of a minor child in Broward. This is intended to provide a legal means for a statutorily defined family member to acquire the necessary legal documentation to permit them to provide for the minor child under for whom they are caring for by allowing them to consent to medical treatment, to obtain copies of school records and to enroll the minor child in school.

In a recent case from the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Mohorn v Thomas, the grandmother appealed an order entered by Broward marital and family Judge Marina Garcia-Wood. The trial court denied her petition for temporary custody. Judge Garcia-Wood found that the father’s name on the birth certificate was insufficient to establish paternity and that the father was required to file a paternity action to establish or ratify paternity before temporary custody of an extended family member could be sought by an extended family member.

The minor child’s birth certificate listed Sylenia Danielle Thomas as the mother and Ronnie Kennedy as the father. One year after the minor child was born, the mother and father executed a document that gave all rights and legal guardianship of the minor child to the paternal grandparents.

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A former South Florida Cathoic priest, David Dueppen, has fathered a minor child with a former stripper, Beatrice Hernandez. On October 5, 2009, he filed a Petition for Paternity, Timesharing, Child Support and for Related Relief in the Miami-Dade marital and family court which handles divorce and paternity cases for residents of Aventura, Coral Gables, Miami Beach and Pinecrest. He is seeking shared parental responsibility, child support and 70% of the custody and timesharing of the minor child.

Through his Miami divorce and paternity lawyer, David Deuppen has allegedly admitted paternity and would like to be involved in the minor child’s life. He joined the priesthood in 1999 but took an indefinite leave of absence in August 2009 after Beatrice Hernandez reported that the priest fathered a child. Over one year ago, they restarted their relationship and had a child, Marilyn.

The parties also have a pending domestic violence action since Hernandez claims that Dueppen choked her during an argument about paternity and child support. The Miami-Dade court has issued a temporary injunction for protection against domestic violence.

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Peter Loftin, owner of the former Gianni Versace mansion on South Beach, Casa Casuarina, has been served with a paternity lawsuit by a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader. The lawsuit was filed on June 5, 2009 in the Miami-Dade county marital and family law court. The case is assigned to Miami-Dade Circuit Court Chief Judge Joel H. Brown, who presides over child support, divorce, alimony and paternity cases south of Fort Lauderdale.

Any woman who is pregnant or who has a child, any man who has reason to believe that he is the father of a child or any child may file a paternity action in circuit court to determine the paternity of a child when paternity has not previously been established. The court can require the child, mother and alleged fathers to submit to DNA testing that are generally acceptable within the scientific community to show a probability of paternity. The DNA test is conducted by a qualified technical laboratory.

A Final Judgment of Paternity generally will address child support, including but not limited to, a monthly amount, uncovered and out-of-pocket medical and dental expenses, hospital and medical expenses, costs of confinement, bills for pregnancy and child birth and any other expenses incident to birth. In addition, a Final Judgment of Paternity may also address shared parental responsibility, time-sharing schedules and a parenting plan so that both parents can have a meaningful relationship with the minor child.