Parents have certain rights under the law, and they also have obligations to their children. However, they generally need to understand their rights if they intend to make use of them.
Married fathers and mothers are often familiar with their legal protections. Unmarried fathers may be less certain about their rights. Even when they pay child support, unmarried fathers sometimes fail to make use of their legal rights as parents.
What rights does the state extend to fathers who have not married the mothers of their children?
The right to establish parentage
For a man to use his parental rights, the state must first acknowledge him as the father of the child. Unmarried fathers in California can establish parentage or paternity. Doing so ensures that the state acknowledges the man as the father of his child.
Some men fill out Voluntary Declarations of Paternity jointly with the mothers of their children. Other times, they may need to go to court and request genetic testing to prove their biological connection to their children.
The right to share custody
Once the state recognizes a man as the father of a child, he can then seek an appropriate allocation of parental rights and responsibilities. Parents have the option of either working cooperatively to establish a custody arrangement or litigating in family court.
Unmarried fathers usually have a right to parenting time or physical custody and decision-making authority or legal custody. So long as their involvement is in the best interests of the child(ren), a judge can award them shared custody even if the mother is uncooperative.
Men who want to be active participants in their children’s lives may need help understanding and utilizing their legal rights under state law. Establishing parentage and then seeking shared custody are both valuable steps for unmarried fathers to complete.