Child custody is often the most contentious issue in divorce and paternity cases. The courts must decide who will be awarded physical custody; meaning which parent will have the children live with them on a day-to-day basis, and legal custody; meaning who will make decisions about major issues like education and medical care for the children as they grow up.
What Are Paternity Responsibilities?
The new paternity contemplates the abandonment of the traditional role of the “absent father or father by delegation” (who works to support the family); which was not directly related to his children.
Responsible paternity results from assuming responsibility in the care of sons and daughters; not only in responding to economic needs, as paternity (father-provider) has been understood.
The new trends in family and paternity include the notion of male responsibility that alludes to the need for men to assume the consequences of their reproductive and sexual behaviors; and to the conscious and active will to desire their children as an act of commitment and responsibility of men with them, concludes.
What Is Child Custody?
Child custody refers to who has legal rights and responsibilities for a child, including decisions about their health, education and welfare.
In many cases, it’s decided through litigation that one parent (or two, if they are unmarried) will be granted sole custody, which gives them exclusive right to make decisions for the child; joint custody, where both parents are legally responsible for making decisions; or visitation rights.
Who Can Get Child Custody?
The court considers a number of factors when making child custody decisions including who has physical custody of a child and who has legal custody. Parents with legal custody can make medical decisions on behalf of their children. With physical custody, a parent takes care of his or her child in person, though he or she doesn’t necessarily have legal rights over that child.
Whether someone has parental rights depends largely on whether that person is a biological parent or not.
How Does Court Decide Who Will Get Child Custody?
Though joint custody is an increasingly popular choice for parents whose children live in separate households, it’s far from a clear-cut solution.
Joint custody doesn’t refer to joint physical custody (where parents split time equally with their kids); rather joint legal custody (where each parent shares equal rights to make decisions about their child’s welfare).
This arrangement often works best when both parents are comfortable working together and share similar parenting styles. Unfortunately, most couples don’t find themselves in that situation.
For them, it may be better to seek sole legal custody through mediation or at trial instead of trying to work together toward shared decision-making.
What Is Joint Custody?
Joint custody is a parenting plan in which both parents are awarded with equal rights and responsibilities over their child.
However, some states (including California) have other specific legal definitions for joint custody. The court awards joint custody based on what it feels is in your child’s best interests. How do courts make that decision? In most cases, they’ll examine your family situation and consider these six factors.
5) What Are Child Custody Issues
If you are a father and involved in an uncontested child custody proceeding; its means that both parents agree on all issues. Typically, they have signed a prenuptial agreement or other formal agreement on custody and support issues.
If you are facing an uncontested proceeding and your child custody attorney will probably ask for temporary orders so, that you can see your children while waiting for a court hearing.
A child custody attorney can help determine how much time is reasonable and appropriate based on various factors including:
- How old your children are?
- What relationships exist between parents?
- Where each parent lives?
- Who has been taking care of minor children?
- Which parent is more likely to encourage frequent visits with other parents and each parent’s work schedule?
Hope this article is helpful to understand paternity responsibilities and child custody issue you might face getting a custody of your child. Happy parenting!
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