A Father’s Rights To Custody In California

In this article, you will learn…

• The rights that a biological father has to his children.
• What a father’s custody rights might look like.
• How to establish a father’s rights to his children.

What Are The Biological Father’s Rights Once A Child Is Actually Born In California?

Before we can determine the rights of the father, we must prove that the father is the biological father of the child. This can be proven by:

• Signing a voluntary declaration of paternity at the hospital that results in the dad’s name being on the birth certificate
• Determination of parentage, which is a court process where the dad asserts that he is the father or the mother asserts that he is the father

If the father was not present at the hospital in order to have signed the birth certificate, the determination of parentage is what starts the creation of these rights:

• Right to custody
• Right to visitation
• Right to support

What Are The Parent’s Custody Rights Of A Child Who Is Born Out Of Wedlock In California?

When it comes to children, things are always fluid. There is never a set rubric that the courts use when it comes to custodial rights or visitation rights for children born out of wedlock. The only set rubric generally involves legal custody.

In legal custody, both parents are granted joint custody. Joint legal custody pertains to decision-making for the child in regards to being informed of…

• Schooling
• Healthcare providers
• Medical needs
• Counseling

Physical custody involves more of the visitation schedule that the parties will be engaged in for their child.

There is typically not a set schedule for physical custody – and it can vary a lot based on the age of the child.

For example, if the child is under a year old and the mother is nursing, the visitation rights that a father has will be much less. The immediate need of the child to have access to their mother will necessitate that the father will not have overnight visitation.

As the kids get older, the courts have become a lot more even kilter when it comes to visitation. There are parents that can move up to a stage where they can share a 50-50 visitation of the minor child.

How Can A Father Establish Paternity In California?

A father can establish paternity in one of two ways:

• If he is at the hospital at the time of birth, being named on the birth certificate by signing the voluntary declaration of paternity
• If he is not at the hospital at the time of birth, the father could file a parentage action in the county that the minor child lives

Due to COVID, we have seen many fathers who are unable to be at the hospital for their child’s birth. We have also seen disagreements between the mother and father being the cause for a father not being present at the birth. In any scenario where the father is not present at the hospital in order to sign the birth certificate, he can file a parentage action to establish his rights.

For more information on Biological Father’s Rights After Birth In California, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (909) 860-0342 today.