When most people think of family law, they think of divorce.  Divorce is certainly common in this society.  When a marriage becomes irreconciable, the parties divorce.

Next to divorce, however, the most common family law case is paternity cases.  Paternity cases are simply custody and child support cases between unmarried parents.  Just like a divorce, when a relationship ends amongst unmarried parents they end up in court as well litigating custody and child support.

In some cases, the mother may want an order from the father for child support.  In other cases, the father may file to establish their parental rights and to obtain a custody schedule for their child. 

After all, just like divorcing parents, most are not able to informally agree on child custody and child support until their children become adults.  In other words, in most cases, the parties might be able to do this for a while.  But at some point, the parties might not agree on who gets to see the children when.  At some point, the parties might disagree on legal custody decisions, like the choice of school, medical decisions, extracurricular activities and a variety of other issues that cause divorcing parents to disagree.  

Who pays child support can also become a critical issue.  Matters such as the cost of college, who is covering health care and who gets to claim the children on their taxes can also become part of a dispute.

With out-of-wedlock birth rates at forty-percent, paternity cases are on the rise and the new divorce.  For unmarried parents who are separation, it is important to have effective representation in your paternity case.  The effects of these cases are long-term and can impact you and your kids.