Processing Paternity Presumptions
Here is the overview of what I'm working on. Let's start by getting too personal and me sharing a little TMI.
I'm a mom of two boys who were born to my ex husband (husband at the time of birth and conception), and I'm a mom of one girl who was born to my current not-husband (we're not married, weren't married at time of her birth or conception, but we live together and act like husband and wife). I've been a lawyer for 14 years and I've been focused in family law for 12 of those years.
I notice little inequities and they greatly disturb me. In particular, in civil court (Louisiana court regulated by the Civil Code), I find that paternity is very strictly adhered to for children to be allowed to spend time with their father, but in juvenile court (Louisiana court regulated by the Children's Code), I find that paternity is not always established, and I've had cases where fathers' parental rights are terminated when paternity has never been established. Wild.
My goal here is to make sense of paternity. Paternity for the married men. Paternity for the not-husbands. Paternity for the abusive exes who moms hide from. Paternity for the missing men. DNA as a factor of paternity. Written notarized forms as a factor of paternity. Government issued documents as a factor of paternity. Let's make sense of all these different situations, and many more, as they are right now and see if we can make a better way forward.
This series is undeniably child focused. I'm undeniably pro-choice, so I'm very disturbed that Louisiana does not allow for child support for pregnant women, only after the baby comes. So, while if I were to take a client, I'd be focusing on mom's best interest or dad's best interest, for this series, I'm focusing on child's best interest.
Comments