Are There Parental Rights For Unmarried Couples?

Are There Parental Rights For Unmarried Couples?

If you find yourself in a situation where you and your girlfriend got a baby, without getting married, there are things that you should know that could affect your responsibilities and your rights as a parent.

To assume your role as a father, you have to first take care of the legal documents and legal work.

There are many babies born outside of marriage. However, without establishing paternity, fathers are not eligible to impact the baby’s life in any way (legally).

Establishing Paternity

Since mothers gave birth to children, they are immediately granted all parental rights, regardless of whether or not they are married.

However, the law is a bit different for fathers.

For the father to be recognized as such in the eyes of law, he has to establish paternity over the child. Without doing so, the unwed father has no right or legal standing towards: ➢ Visitation ➢ Shared custody ➢ Impacting the child’s life in any way

The easiest way to establish paternity is by making sure that the father’s name is on the baby’s birth certificate. However, that requires being with the mother at the hospital when the baby is born and help with the birth certificate forms.

The mother can contest the father’s paternity, and in that case, the father has the right to contact a government agency like the Child Support Enforcement Division. Another option is to get an attorney and petition a court to establish paternity.

Contact a parental rights attorney in Salt Lake City Emy Cordano will guide you through the process and help you establish paternity.

Gaining Custody Rights

Once you have established paternity, you can work on establishing your custody status. Legally speaking, a father has the same custodial rights as the mother. If the child is being raised together by both parents, under the same roof, custody will not be an issue. However, that is not always the case. If the parents are separated, the father will have to petition a court to establish his custody rights.

Generally speaking, fathers are at a disadvantage in a custody process simply because government agencies (and family court judges) presume that the child should be with his/her mother unless it is detrimental to the child. And unless a mother is unfit to raise her child, the father can petition for a joint or shared custody, or at least get visitation rights.

If you are dealing with parental rights, and the other parent is not cooperating, contact a Salt Lake City family law attorney Emy Cordano. She will guide you through the process and helps you establish your parental rights, as well as custody of your child.

Contact: Emy Cordano, Attorney at Law ADDRESS:

PHONE NO.:

WEBSITE:

6465 S 3000 E, Suite 103 Salt Lake City, UT 84121

801-804-5152

www.cor-law.com/ contact-us.html

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