What a paternity case establishes
Once paternity is established, both parents are natural guardians with the rights and responsibilities of parents, under § 744.301(1). That is the change the case makes to the legal picture, and it is why the word shows up in paperwork that never mentions custody at all.
Before that point the default is the one people usually run into first. When parents are not married, the mother alone is the child's natural guardian and has custody unless a court orders otherwise, under § 744.301(1).
The rebuttable presumption that equal timesharing is in the child's best interest, which Florida has applied since July 1, 2023 under § 61.13, is part of the same conversation once a case is properly before the court.
CS/CS/HB 775, effective July 1, 2023, amended §§ 742.011, 742.10, and 744.301. A court establishing paternity must now also address parental responsibility, the parenting plan, the timesharing schedule, and child support, so the case reaches those four items rather than stopping at parentage.
What it does not do on its own
Establishing paternity does not by itself create a timesharing schedule. Parental responsibility, a parenting plan, a timesharing schedule, and child support must be established in an action under § 742.011, per § 742.10. Paperwork that only settles parentage leaves those four open, which is the single most common surprise for parents who thought signing was the end of it.
The three ways it happens
Paternity can be established by a notarized voluntary acknowledgment of paternity signed by both parents. It can be established by adjudication by the Department of Revenue. It can be established by court order in a paternity action. All three come from § 742.10.
They are not interchangeable, and the difference matters more than the label does. Which one fits, and where each one stops, is laid out on how to establish paternity in Florida.
Start here instead
Most readers land here with one of four situations, so pick the one that sounds like yours.
You were never married and want to know who has custody: start with custody for unmarried parents in Florida.
You are the father and want to know where you stand: start with rights when the parents were never married.
Your name is on the birth certificate: start with what the birth certificate does and does not do.
You know what you need and want the steps: start with how to establish paternity in Florida.
The Quick Divorce covers these cases under Essential at $995 and Premium at $2,995. Core does not, because Core is built for simple divorces with no children. Both plans are on pricing, and if the two of you have not reached agreement yet, online mediation is $450 per hour with a two-hour minimum.