Laws vary from state to state, but custody rights show some consistency across states, according to the Child Welfare Information Gateway. The first step in obtaining rights as a father is to establish paternity, a straightforward process when the mother and father are married and living together. When paternity is questioned, the process can become more complicated.
Definition of Father
Certain conditions establish paternity automatically, including if the mother and father are married and the father is listed on the birth certificate. If the mother raises questions about paternity, legal definitions of paternity must be invoked. Definitions vary across legal jurisdictions, but can include the father being identified on the birth certificate, a legal affidavit signed by the mother identifying a man as the father, or a court of law establishing a man as the father. If the mother questions paternity, the father should submit a petition for a DNA test to the family court in the mother's jurisdiction. Paternity rights will be granted once paternity is determined by the DNA test.
Custody
Custody is the right of biological parents to participate in important decisions regarding their child including healthcare, religious upbringing, education and residence. Courts typically designate joint custody, establishing that both parents have the right to contribute to these decisions. However, under specific circumstances, the courts may assign primary custody to one parent or the other such as when one or both parents are in prison, or are harmful, abusive, or neglectful to the child, or absent or unfit.
Physical Custody
Physical custody determines the primary residence where the child will spend most of his time. Physical custody is generally assigned to the biological mother when the mother and father have never been married. In this circumstance, the father must petition the court for physical custody. Courts rarely grant unwed fathers physical custody unless the mother is deemed unfit by the court. Some courts confer joint physical custody in divorce cases, specifying that the child will spend equal time with the mother and the father. The court may give primary physical custody to just one parent if either parent can make a strong case as to why joint physical custody should not be granted, or if other conditions prohibit joint physical custody, like the parents live far apart.
Visitation and Remaining Custody Rights
Fathers who do not receive primary or joint physical custody will usually retain visitation rights. They also retain putative custody rights to have input into healthcare, religious upbringing and education decisions. Courts do not provide formal guidelines as to how these child-rearing decisions are to be shared between the primary custodial parent and the parent who has visitation. Likewise, visitation is usually informally established by the courts under the rubric that the primary physical custodian must provide "reasonable" visitation to the non-custodial parent. When parents cannot agree or negotiate visitation, the courts will determine a visitation schedule, which usually includes some proportion of weekends, contact during some days of the week, and parts of holidays and vacations.
Responsibilities
Once a father's custody rights are established, even if he is not granted joint or shared physical custody, and even if there is significant abridgment in visitation, parental responsibilities are legally established. The father will likely have to pay child custody, and will be required to contribute to the child's welfare including medical and health expenses.
