When married couples have children, there’s little question about the rights of the parents. They share responsibility for the children even if they decide to divorce eventually. Arranging for shared custody is standard protocol when married couples divorce.
People often feel less certain about their rights when they have not married. Parents who have not married but share children with one another may have inaccurate beliefs about custody rights. Unmarried fathers, in particular, sometimes convince themselves that they do not have the option of seeking shared custody when they end their romantic relationships with the mothers of their children. Yet, contrary to what men sometimes believe, marital status does not determine their eligibility for shared custody.
Unmarried fathers have parental rights too
A parental relationship is between an adult and a child, not between that adult and the other parent of the child. A father still has basic custody rights even if he never committed to the mother of his children.
However, he may have to cooperate with the state to make use of his parental rights. Unmarried fathers must establish paternity if they want to request shared custody. Often, unmarried fathers establish paternity with the mother of their children at the hospital immediately following the birth of a child. They can fill out voluntary paperwork with the mother to have their name added to a child’s birth certificate. Voluntary acknowledgments are also possible while the child is still a minor.
If the mother is uncooperative and does not want to acknowledge the father, he can ask the family courts for assistance. It is possible to request genetic testing to establish paternity. The mother generally has an obligation to present the child for testing to definitively establish whether a man is the child’s father or not. If paternity testing supports a man’s claim of parentage, then he can ask the family courts to allocate parental rights and responsibilities to him as well.
Unmarried fathers have the same essential rights as any other parents if they follow the right legal steps. Establishing paternity is a crucial stop for fathers who want to pursue shared custody. Men who know their rights can step up to be involved parents even after a breakup.
