When married parents separate, working out a shared custody or visitation schedule is typically a top priority. The situation is vastly different when an unmarried couple separates. In many cases, one person simply leaves and may take the children with them.
Fathers, in particular, often feel uncertain about their parental rights when a relationship abruptly ends. In some cases, the mothers of their children may refuse to grant them visitation access. The fathers may then need to take legal action if they want to maintain their connection with their children.
Is it legal for a mother to refuse visitation requests made by the father of her children if the couple never married?
Father’s rights depend on parentage
Technically, men and women have the same basic parental rights according to state law. However, men sometimes have an extra obligation to fulfill to gain access to those rights. Specifically, they may need to establish parentage or paternity with the state.
Married men automatically have their names included on the birth certificates of their children. Unmarried men have to submit paperwork to the state to validate their parental relationship with the child. Many unmarried couples execute paperwork at the hospital.
If both parents agree, they can execute a Certificate of Parentage that adds the man’s name to the birth certificate immediately. The parents can also cooperate to acknowledge the father’s paternity long after the birth of the child.
In scenarios where the father cannot secure the cooperation of the mother, he may need to ask the family courts for support. The family courts can order genetic testing where both parents and the child must submit samples for analysis. Such tests have a very small margin of error, making them very reliable. They are also non-invasive, which means that mothers usually cannot refuse to present the children or themselves for testing.
Once a man has established his parentage through genetic testing or paperwork, he can then petition the family courts for visitation or shared custody rights. Until the man establishes parentage and pursues a court order, the mother technically benefits from a presumption of sole custody under current state statutes.
Thankfully, with the right support, men can affirm their relationships with their biological children regardless of their marital status. They can then assert their parental rights and acquire parenting time or visitation.
Learning more about the laws that govern child custody and parentage can help unmarried fathers understand how to handle challenging situations. Fathers can pursue visitation and custody even in cases where the mothers of their children are initially uncooperative.
