Father’s Rights in Minnesota
The arrival of a child for a dad brings a wave of uncertainty about the future for parenting the child. Unfortunately for dads that are not married to the child’s mother, they will face even more obstacles and uncertainty in being an involved dad to their child. If things go sour between the dad and mother, the dad can even be pushed out of the child’s life.
Relationship with Your Children
More and more children are being born into relationships where the parents are not married. After the birth of the child many arrangements for declaring the father can be made, but the most frequently used is called a recognition of parentage form. This form lists the dad on the child’s birth certificate as the legal dad, and the dad now has a legal obligation to pay child support. That is it. The recognition of parentage does not provide the dad with any further parenting rights. The recognition of parentage is not even a final determination that you are the dad of your own child. And that is where trouble begins.
Minnesota Recognition of Parentage
If a man has been declared the dad of the child with only a recognition of parentage form, the dad will still have no parenting rights with the child. The mother, by law, has all control over the child. The mother has physical custody of the child, which is the right to care for, control, and spend time with the child. The mother also has legal custody of the child, which is the right to make decisions for the child such as medical care, religious upbringing, and school choice. Dad just has to write the monthly child support check.
Child Custody and Father’s Rights
The dad is left having to start a difficult process of bringing a custody action against the mother to obtain any parenting rights and to be able to see your child. This can be a costly and time consuming process when the mother and dad disagree on parenting issues. Dad will most likely have to hire an attorney, attend many court hearings, and may have to go through custody evaluations where dad’s life is reviewed to determine if he is fit to spend time with his own child. Dad can be looking at even bigger problems if the mother alleges that dad hit her or was physical aggressive with her. If the mother brings an order for protection action against dad during this custody process, his chances of having equal parenting rights are greatly reduced.
If you are a dad and only have a recognition of parentage or nothing in place for your child, please call today to consult with an attorney and help secure and protect your parental rights before it becomes a problem. If you and the mother of your children are still together we can help you quickly and efficiently get a court order in place to confirm you are the dad and establish your rights as the dad of your child in case of a relationship split.
Once your rights to physical custody and legal custody are established in a court order, no one can change that without going through the court process. If you are a dad, make sure you protect your rights as a dad. Don’t get locked out of your child’s life. Take the time now to make sure you can always be there for your child.
Minnesota Family Attorney
An experienced Minnesota family law attorney can help walk you through the difficult process of divorce, including offering advice on confusing financial issues such as alimony and helping negotiate emotional subjects like child custody arrangements. For more information on divorce in Minnesota, along with a variety of other topics, contact Joseph M. Flanders of Flanders Law Firm at (612) 424-0398.
