What Rights Does A Father Have?

Fatherhood entails a variety of obligations and privileges. Understanding your rights is crucial, particularly when it comes to child custody disputes. Discover your rights and how to defend them by reading on.

The rights of a married father to see his child and those of an unmarried father differ significantly. What privileges does a dad have to visit his kid? In contrast to an unmarried father who has no custody rights unless he can prove paternity, a married father enjoys equal custody rights, including the ability to make legal decisions and parenting time with his child. The child has joint legal and physical custody with a married father. Welfare, health, educational, and legal decisions regarding the kid are under the purview of legal custody.

The Rights of a Father Who Is Not Married

Unmarried fathers have historically found it challenging to navigate the world of parental rights because there were few laws that established and upheld their rights. The biological mother used to find it simple to stop the biological father from establishing a legal relationship with their child or children, but circumstances have changed, and this is no longer the case. There are numerous ways for fathers to establish their paternity in the legal system nowadays.

A legal finding of a child’s biological father is known as paternity (or children). By submitting a “acknowledgment” statement to your state’s vital records office, paternity can be proven. It must be signed by both parents for it to be regarded as legal and binding. Once you have filed a paternity action in your local court, it can be determined if the mother of the kid (or children) objects to your claim of paternity. The paternity case will be taken into account, and the judge will decide who the child or children’s biological father is. A DNA or blood test will be mandated by the court to establish biological paternity. In the course of a paternity case, a court may also decide on custody or visitation rights. The paternity case goes forward if the DNA matches. The lawsuit will be thrown out if there is no DNA match since you are not the Father.

 

Rights of a Married Father to His Child

Married fathers and the mother of their child share equal custody rights, commonly known as legal decision-making, in Arizona. In Arizona, if you have a married child, you are immediately assumed to be the child’s biological father. This means that you do not need to prove paternity in order to take part in important decisions like religious upbringing, academic pursuits, or medical care. In the event of a divorce, having equal custody also means you might be liable for paying child support and other expenses.

 

Fathers’ Rights to Custody

If you were married to the mother at the time of the birth, the court will presume you are the father once your child (or children) are born. Even if you weren’t married when the child was born, if paternity has been proven, you may be granted custody rights. A parent who has legal custody of a child is permitted to do the following actions:

the right to decide what is best for the child.
the authority to decide on a child’s medical care.
the authority to decide on a child’s religious upbringing and care.
the right to decide what a child should learn.

Physical custody is a legal phrase that describes a child’s living arrangements (or children.) As a father, you are on an equal footing in this situation since, without evidence of doubtful parental fitness, mothers do not have any greater rights to their child’s (or children’s) custody.

The father and the mother of the child may agree on a Joint Parenting Plan (or children.) Otherwise, the court can make this decision for you. The parenting plan will be transformed by a judge into a legally binding visitation and custody order that both parents must abide with. You may request the court’s intervention if the agreement’s conditions are not being upheld. The parent who disobeys the requirements of a custody order may be subject to fines, jail time, and even be put in contempt of court, so this is something that is treated very seriously.

 

Paying Child Support

The same rights to receive child support as mothers who have primary custody of the kid apply to fathers who have primary custody of the child (or children) (or children.) Child support must still be paid on time even when a parent is interfering with the child’s visiting rights. It’s time to speak with a family law attorney if a parent is blocking you from seeing your child (or children).

What Rights Do I Have If the Mother of My Child Remarries?

Normally, your rights as a biological parent take precedence over a stepparent’s rights. If the stepparent of your child (or children) wishes to adopt the children, think very carefully. You will typically lose your parental rights through adoption. Any prior court-ordered visitation is no longer valid. According to existing law, the new parents are not required to provide you access to your child (or children.)

 

Questions You Should Ask Your Lawyer Frequently

I’ve previously admitted that I’m the father of my girlfriend’s child since I’m so sure of it. It turns out that I have learned that the child is not my own. I want a divorce, but I need to know if I will retain custody of the son I raised with all of my heart?
I want to spend more time with my kids. How do I obtain this?
What should I do if the mother of my children isn’t allowed to visit me?
The child should live with me, but the other parent has custody. Do I still have to provide the other parent child support once the child moves in?