What Unmarried Dads Need To Know To Protect Their Parental Rights

unmarried dadDads often face an uphill battle when it comes to family law issues. The situation is even tougher for unmarried fathers.

A recent case in point comes from Wisconsin. Nearly six months ago, James Wolfe’s son was snatched away from him by the toddler’s mother, who disappeared with the child to Georgia without Wolfe’s permission. Wolfe is an unmarried father, and although his name is listed on the child’s birth certificate, that’s not enough to prove paternity in Wisconsin.

According to Wolfe’s attorney, Cordell & Cordell divorce lawyer Chelsea Williamson, the court would typically order a DNA test, but in this case that is impossible since there is no way of tracking down the child.

Wolfe, who is a truck driver, has racked up more than $30,000 on lawyers, process servers, and private detectives attempting to gain custody.

“It’s very concerning they make it that difficult for someone who has been there since the beginning, who co-parented,” Williamson said. “People need to know if you have a child out of wedlock that you need to get your legal rights established. Having your name on a birth certificate isn’t always enough.”

In the United States, 40 percent of children are born to unmarried parents, but state laws are often not specific about the rights of unmarried fathers.

If you’re an unmarried dad, there are some important things you need to know to make sure you protect your parental rights and stay involved in your children’s lives.

There is no legal presumption of paternity

When married couples have a child, it is legally presumed that the husband is the father. However, for unmarried fathers like Wolfe, there is no legal presumption of paternity.

Without establishing paternity, a father has no right to visitation or decisions regarding the child’s welfare.

“An unwed father is left at the mercy of the mother of the child until paternity is established,” said Cordell & Cordell Principal Partner Joe Cordell. “If you are an unmarried dad who is certain you are the biological father, then you must be proactive and establish paternity to assert your legal rights.”

There are three ways to establish paternity:

  • Get on the birth certificate (although as we’ve seen, that is not always enough).
  • Get an order through an administrative agency.
  • Get a court order.

Cordell & Cordell understands the concerns men face during divorce.

An application for government assistance initiates child support

The application for government assistance – such as food stamps, Medicaid, etc. – requires that the mother disclose the father’s identity. Refusing to do so can cause her application to be denied without further review.

Once his identity is known, the state will typically initiate an action against the father, regardless of whether or not the mother wants to do so, to ensure he’s providing support for the child.

This can create a host of other issues for the father, depending on his financial status. The child support system’s overemphasis on collecting payments results in a mechanism that is particularly harsh on low-income parents. It is frighteningly easy for parents to rack up child support arrears, which can then result in contempt charges.

Without establishing paternity, you risk losing your child to the adoption system

Although unmarried birth dads are gaining more rights in the adoption process, it is still their responsibility to prove paternity or else it’s possible for the mother to give the child up for adoption without the father’s permission.

It’s stunningly easy for mothers to commit paternity fraud by lying about who the biological father of their child is, and if a dad doesn’t realize he has fathered a child then he is at risk of losing his child to the adoption system without even realizing it.

That’s nearly exactly what happened in the case of Christopher Emanuel.

Some states, such as Utah, even have fraud immunity statutes that prevent adoptions from being overturned in cases where the mother lied.

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3 comments on “What Unmarried Dads Need To Know To Protect Their Parental Rights

    Just a huge thank you for this site and for everything! I had no idea how little rights men have until my sons birth mother decided since my son did not want to be a couple with her long before their son was born, she would make it just as tuff as she could on my son who wants to do nothing more than coparent and be a great father. Usually the courts have to fight for the father to be one. I’ve heard nothing but great things about your firm and support system! It could be my son calls you if things don’t go well in the backward town this case takes place in. I am ready to help fight (peacefully) for men’s rights!

    I have a couple things I’d like to ask. What if a father has had the child/children for a few years but never went to court due to lack of interest is said child/s lives, only to recently remove from established home with father?
    2. Why is it that when a mother goes for State/federal help i.e food stamps, Wic and medical they automatically go after the stated father for child support but when a father has kids and goes for said help they don’t automatically pursue the mother for the same?
    Such a sad and corrupt system that cannot and should not be allowed to continue this one sided persecution against fathers.

    Just wanted to say thank you for making this website easy to use and read on mobile. No banner in my wszy and stupid popups, links are eays to click on. Great job. It’s so rare to fond a website like this, thise made for mobile sites often cut the articles way dow make it hard to find what I want, content! Off to the next page.

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