Paternity & Fathers' Rights

Paternity Rights in Arizona - The Basics.

Contrary to popular belief, your name on the birth certificate or signing of an acknowledgment at the hospital does not establish paternity. If a man and woman are married, Arizona law presumes the husband is the father of any children that are born into the marriage. Otherwise, paternity must be established by court order.

Is an Order of Paternity What I Need?

A paternity proceeding is begun in Family Court by filing a petition to establish paternity. Once the parties are in court, they have the option to consent to an order of paternity, which means that there is no question as to who is the father of the child, and that neither side is requesting blood or DNA tests. It is very difficult to overturn a consent order of paternity and may stand in court even if down the road it is determined that the legal father is not the biological father.

If there is no consent order of paternity, the court will generally order blood or DNA tests. Once the results of the blood or DNA tests are known, the parties will once again have the option to consent to an order of paternity or to request a hearing. If the case goes to a hearing, it is up to the party seeking to establish paternity to prove paternity by clear and convincing evidence. The parties are not required to accept the results of the tests, but challenges to DNA testing are very difficult and can be very expensive.

Legal recognition of paternity is necessary to obtain an enforceable order for child support and to establish parenting time for the father. Click here to find out more about protecting your rights as a father.

What Are a Fathers’ Rights In An Adoption?

Arizona law provides that a fathers’ consent to the adoption of his child is not needed if:

The father was not married to the mother at the time of birth,
If the father has not legally adopted the child, or
If the fathers’ paternity has not been established according to law.

A father must be served notice advising him of the proposed adoption of his child and giving him 30 days to initiate a paternity proceeding in the Superior Court and to serve notice to the mother. If the father does not initiate a paternity action speedily and completely, he will be barred from asserting his interests in the child; meaning he legally forfeits all rights. This is a drastic result and may unfairly affect fathers who cannot afford the cost of a Superior Court lawsuit on 30 days notice.

Contact A Family Law Attorney Today.

Our Arizona fathers’ rights lawyers at Platt & Westby, P.C., offer payment plans and options to make our legal services available and affordable so that your legal rights and relationships are not sacrificed due to a temporary shortage of funds. Fathers who have not yet had their paternity formally established according to law should do so now.

Contact our office or call 602-277-4441 to speak with one of our experienced Arizona family law attorneys at Platt & Westby, P.C., for help with a paternity claim, or any related paternity questions.

If you have a question about paternity rights, contact us.

We can help.

Platt & Westby, P.C.

4.3

Daniel T

05:29 09 Sep 23

Mr Rahtz is a compassionate, knowledgeable and strong lawyer. He set reasonable expectations for my case and delivered results exceeding my goals! Mr Firas, another associate in the firm, is also great! Thank you!read more

Rhonda Rolf

23:56 08 Jun 23

Mr. Rahtz was attentive, extremely knowledgeable and confident with the available options he presented to address my situation. He did not make me feel rushed or insignificant. I very much appreciate the time he devoted to my consultation.read more

J.D. Purves

20:37 24 May 23

I've worked with both Pete Westby on a real estate contract and Andy Rahtz related to family law. In both situations they provided excellent service, I am both happy and confident in the work they performed as well as felt the prices are very fair. They offered free initial consultations and their were no surprises outside the initial prices quoted.read more

Cindy Morris

22:43 09 May 23

The people in this office are the nicest people I hired them and they got my case done in less than a week. They worked with me every step, answered all questions I would recommend them to everyone. Thank youread more

Zanzibar Vermiglio

17:51 01 Feb 23

I have gone to these guys for years now. I'm so happy to my friend Allison for turning me on to them. From Real Estate Contract to business formation, they always know exactly how to engineer the right result. Beyond that, they just seem to care. Thanks guys.read more

Kimberly Just Kimberly

00:24 15 Jul 22

EXCEPTIONAL - EXCEPTIONAL - EXCEPTIONAL!SO glad I did the free consultation!I have a dear 83 year old friend, I'm his POA, and a Trustee on his Revocable Living Trust.My friend wanted to make changes to his Trust, some which were just complicated enough to cause me concern about whether his original Trust could be amended to accommodate those changes, and whether I'd legally be able to enforce those changes -- to make sure his last wishes are honored -- when he passes.Our free consultation with Andy Rahtz, was invaluable in helping sort out our concerns! I am SO grateful, for my friend's sake!Andy went through our long list of "what if" questions, and gave SUCH great advice, taking the time to walk through the pros and cons of several ways we'd considered moving forward to accomplish what my friend wants to do.I appreciated SO much Andy's direct, frank, objective legal views, and because of this call, understand the best course of action, going forward, so *I* am able to best help my friend have his last wishes honored.I can't possibly give Andy a high enough endorsement for the peace of mind and GREAT legal advice he gave. Wow. Just wow.read more

Katie Filous Malka

00:23 25 Mar 22

I had a consult with Andy today, and as an attorney myself, I really appreciated his candor, honesty on Platt & Westby's expertise, and overall assistance. While it turns out they do not handle the type of case that I have, if you are looking for lawyers with integrity, these are your people. Their consult scheduling process was also very organized and easy. Thank you all!read more

MOhamed kone

01:23 24 Jan 22

I recommended this law farm to anybody need help need a classic Mind set you should got to them if you need fight for your case or not they will not waste your time or waste your money very straightforward honest great people great customer service tell you truth is not about money it’s about trustread more

Arteemaker

14:13 04 Jan 22

The team at Platt & Westby is very professional and competent. They take the time to talk to you and come up with smart solutions. They are very hard working.read more

Steven Levy

17:04 24 Dec 21

Got a free consultation and the attorney was very helpful. Highly recommended.

Ken K

11:54 11 Oct 21

It's ok if you already know you'll win otherwise you're just suing yourself trying to communicate with them. I guess it's the same everywhere now days. Not like the old days when you were not a victim on both ends 😆read more

Jarom Reynolds

17:45 21 Feb 20

Very highly recommended.

chisum bobby

03:35 09 Dec 19

Very friends nd helpful

Ben Cook

17:05 18 Oct 19

Andrew Rahtz is the most knowledgeable and professional attorney I’ve ever met. He handled my case with care and helped me navigate the complications of my case. With him, I was able to get near 100% custody, legal decision making and child support. I cannot recommend the the legal team at Platt and Westby highly enough. Thank you Andy!read more

Dani Buskohl Cook

16:57 18 Oct 19

Thank you Andy Rahtz (and rest of the P&W team) for taking such great care of us! I highly recommend this firm, especially Andy. He helped me with both personal and business cases. He is knowledgeable and helpful and I couldn't have accomplished what I did without him.read more

Elizabeth Krebs

17:32 24 Sep 19

Great bunch of lawyers

Courtney Laabs

07:27 28 Aug 19

Elizabeth Westby has been my ally in a long running family law issue. She has been accessible, responsive, kind and supportive. I’m incredibly thankful I found her.read more

Melissa Malzahn

04:35 01 Aug 19

Great Attorney's

M Beyoch

15:59 06 Jul 19

Very professional and helpful!

Ramsey Bergeron

10:37 08 Aug 18

I was referred to Andy Rahtz by a mutual friend to review a situation that I was told by other firms would be fruitless. Right from the start, Andy gave me incredibly helpful advice. He explained things in a way that was easy to understand and gave me hope. Extremely knowledgeable in all the different facets of law surrounding my business case, he answered any questions I had quickly, courteously, and (just as important 😉) accurately. I always felt he always had my best interest in mind and made it a priority to keep me in the loop with the progress being made on my case. I highly recommend Andy and the team at Platt & Westby! Thank you for helping me get justice!read more

Paulo Soares

01:38 11 Jul 18

Mr. Westby really knows his stuff, and gave me some excellent advice. I will be back to move forward on my situation.

Kenneth Crayton

07:30 22 May 18

RahtzHe gave me his undivided attention and seemed to genuinely care. In my experience, it has been very tedious and daunting to begin a conversation with an attorney, especially one at a law firm with other partners, etc. That is, usually law firms won't lend an ear, it seems, unless you pay $100-300 initial consulting fee, which is basically a $15 overview of your case and whether they think it's worthwhile$$$.However, not only was I surprised to see Attorney Rhatz offer a no-cost consultation, but he also kept it "real." He advised me with information that even seemed to work against his assumed interest in profit (i.e., he didn't try to exploit me for money), such as by providing me with self-help research suggestions, and even helped me put together an outline for my case.He didn't want me to lose more money winning with him (he didn't want me to spend so much money to retain him, that even if winning the case, I'd still be at a net negative dollar-loss).He gave me his undivided attention, asked questions that showed he actually paid attention, and was very resourceful with directing me towards credible sources of jurisprudence.What's more, is that he didn't throw me out after 15 minutes, but rather stayed with me until he felt I was sufficiently informed with the material and answers to questions to send me along my way.This man even read through all my notes and connected with me as a person.I also appreciated his aggressive, but civil, nature towards vanquishing the countering party. He is strategic, he is prepared to preempt the countering party's legal arguments by first calling them out himself, and sparks reassurance that he is sedulously and astutely on the case.Obviously, I would recommend attorney R Andrew Rahtz for the aforementioned reasons, despite only meeting with him one time on an preliminary consultation.read more

Melissa Keiper

00:40 22 Feb 18

I wrote in to a law message board asking about a step in my case and Mr. Peter Westby replied with some sound advice. I emailed him to thank him for his advice and shared with him I was not being represented. He offered to meet with me to go over my case and possibly about representing me. In our meeting he allowed me to give him all the details of my case and he spent a good amount of time offering advise and insight to the law pertaining to my situation. Mr. Westby was very patient and allowed me to ask multiple questions and was thorough in his answers. Because I live 2 hours away and in a different county (Tucson), and because my case will most likely go to trial and the cost of travel for him to represent me I am unable to retain Mr. Westby as my attorney. However, if this were to be taking place in Phoenix I would hire him in a heartbeat. I appreciate his willingness to talk with me and spend his time assuring me about the steps i'll need to take in my case. He was very prompt in his reply to my question and then for scheduling a phone conference to go over a case he prob knew he wouldn't be able to take given the distance.read more

Lance Wallace

16:44 04 Jan 18

I've worked with Pete Westby on a few matters over the years and I do recommend him and his firm. It is nice to talk and work directly with a principal of the firm who has both integrity and tons of experience.read more

David Hughes

17:08 08 Nov 17

Mr. Westby was great and very knowledgeable and the staff was friendly and very responsive and kept me informed every step of the way... I would and will definitely recommend Platt & Westby P.C. to friends and family.read more

John Rukavena

23:25 12 Oct 17

Meet with Peter today and was very impressed. I had a large tile job that was done improperly and was not sure if a lawsuit made economic sense. Peter was straightforward and told me that if the contractor did not have sufficent assets, a lawsuit would be risky because a favorable court decision might not result in a payout. I now know what I need to do thanks to Peter.read more

Jordan P

19:07 04 Sep 17

We went in for our free consultation regarding our legal concerns and we were very happy with our experience and outcome of our situation. Mr. Rahtz was professional, informative, and helpful. I would recommend him for anyone seeking legal counselling. Thank you to Mr. Rahtz and the rest of the team at Platt & Westby.read more

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