On : My Experience Explained
Existing Rights and Responsibilities of a Parent That is Not Married
A record of 19.7 million children are living without the care of their fathers. As much as there is the existence of the deadbeat dad’ stereotype, there are those who would love it best if they were with their children and see them grow. However, there are fathers who have a hard time gaining custody of their children while others do not have the knowledge that they are parents. A father could be struggling because they have to endure the non-compliant mothers of their children. The following fathers’ rights are which one needs to be aware of to ease the struggle of them getting custody of their children.
Primarily, it is crucial that an individual gets to establish the paternity of the child. By establishing paternity, then it is proof that an individual is the dad and thus needs to take care of the responsibilities. DNA testing should be conducted for an individual to get proof pf paternity. The DNA test could either be done because the individual wants it done or it could be a ruling from the court. An important aspect that one needs to be aware of is that even with the rights that they have to the child, they also have responsibilities that they need to uphold.
Secondly, an individual need to know that it is essential for them to sign the recognition of percentage document. This is basically a document that is signed by both the mother and father who are not married. A benefit of both parents signing this document is that they do not have to go to court. This is because the name of the father will appear in the birth certificate and thus means that he has legal responsibilities to the child that he needs to uphold.
Lastly an important fact to note about the recognition of percentage documents is that it does not state the custodial rights. There is, therefore, the necessity for both parents to go to court for paternity adjudication. The court then decides on the custody, child support, medical support as well as the legal name of the child. It is crucial for a father to consider hiring a lawyer. It will then cater for, just in case, the mother is not in line with what the court rules. Even though a lawyer is provided by the court, it is important for an individual to consider hiring the best lawyer from the internet. When choosing a lawyer, then an individual need to make sure that he or she has a specialization with the unmarried fathers’ rights. Basically, there is the need for a father to be knowledgeable of their rights.