If you’re single and nervous about your rights and responsibilities as an unmarried parent… read on!
A child deserves the best from their parents including moral and financial support.
Even when disagreements occur between parents, it’s the right of a child to be cared for by both parents.
Children that have the support of both parents grow mentally and physically strong because they get all the support they need in their life.
With that in mind, this article offers a guide to the rights and responsibilities of unmarried parents.
I’m sharing this article because I am a bestselling personal development author with about 2 million books sold globally.
I am also the founder of the therapist recommended online course called Broken Heart Recovery.
I love sharing tools to help people enjoy their best lives – whether they’re in a relationship or not.
With this mind, in this article, I will explore what your rights and responsibilities are as an unmarried parent.
When you contact reputable firms such as Rachey Storey Family Law firm, you’ll learn that paternity is not automatically assigned to a man when a child is born. From the perspective of law, paternity simply refers to the legal extent to which a man is assigned the title of father to a child. Upon birth, it is presumed that the mother is the legal parent to the child. When marriage is in the picture, the husband becomes the father of the child. However, if the mother is unmarried during childbirth, the man is not the legal father unless paternity has been established.
It’s important to note that a birth certificate is not an establishment of paternity. Only a recognition of Parentage signed by the parents or court action can assign the status of the biological father to the man.
Child support refers to the money a parent pays in support of a child. It is the right of every child to be supported by both parents. The ‘obligor’ is a term referring to the parent paying child support whereas the ‘obligee’ is the parent receiving the support.
The amount an obligor will pay often depends on the income of both parents as well as the time they spend with the child.
For instance, the obligor will pay less if they spend more nights with the child. Furthermore, assuming their incomes are equal and each parent spends approximately the same amount of time, neither of them will be required to pay child support. In case their incomes are not equal, whoever has a higher income may be required to pay some child support.
The court may award legal custody to one of the parents or even both. When both are awarded, it is referred to as joint custody. In this case, it implies both the father and mother have equal rights and duties when it comes to making major decisions concerning the child. In most cases, the court prefers to award joint custody.
However, when there are issues such as domestic abuse and the parents cannot work together, then sole custody is awarded. But, whether sole or joint legal custody, both parents have a right to be involved and informed about the child’s health care, and schooling, among other major decisions.
Being unmarried does not eradicate the love you have for your child. Nonetheless, it is imperative to know your rights and responsibilities as an unmarried parent. This article highlights some of this information, but speaking to a lawyer can broaden your understanding of what is expected of you as an unmarried parent.
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