Unmarried Parents
| Author | Jeffrey Wilson |
| Pages | 839-842 |
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Children born out of wedlock are entitled to the same rights and protections as children born in wedlock. Unmarried fathers have rights and duties similar to those of married fathers. One of the most important legal responsibilities of parents is supporting their children. Parents are legally obligated to provide their children with all the necessities of life. The failure of parents to marry does not affect their responsibility to support their children. If parents are unmarried and cannot agree upon how much each should contribute toward the support of their children, the courts may decide. A court can order one parent to make specified payments to the other for child support.
State laws provide that biological parents make all the decisions involving their children, including education, health care, and religious upbringing. Parents are not required to secure the legal right to make these decisions if they are married and are listed on the child's birth certificate. However, if there is disagreement about who has the right to make these decisions courts can decide.
Couples who are living together but are not married should take steps to ensure that both are recognized as the legal parents. Both parents can be listed on the birth certificate. A parent who is not listed can be added after the birth of a child if the parent contacts the state Bureau of Vital Statistics in which the birth took place. Most states require unmarried fathers to sign an affidavit or acknowledgment of paternity.
A paternity action is a legal proceeding that allows unmarried parents to resolve issues about child custody and visitation similar to those dealt with in a divorce proceeding. Establishing paternity means establishing the identity of the child's father. A father can acknowledge paternity by signing a written admission or voluntary acknowledgment of paternity. All States have programs under which birthing hospitals give unmarried parents of a newborn the oppor-
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tunity to acknowledge the father's paternity of the child. States must also help parents acknowledge paternity up to the child's eighteenth birthday through vital records offices or other entities designated by the State. Parents are not required to apply for child support enforcement services when acknowledging paternity.
Paternity cases do not have to involve a dispute between the parties about who the father is. Sometimes the parties will stipulate that they are the parents of the child. If however, parentage is an issue in the case, then it must be handled prior to addressing other matters such as support and visitation. Paternity establishment can provide basic emotional, social, and economic ties between a father and his child. Once paternity is established, a child gains legal rights and privileges. Among these may be rights to inheritance, rights to the father's medical and life insurance benefits, and to social security and possibly veterans' benefits. The child also has a chance to develop a relationship with the father and to develop both a sense of identity and connection. It may be important for the health of the child for doctors to have knowledge of the father's medical history.
Paternity can be determined by highly accurate tests conducted on blood or tissue samples of the father, or alleged father, mother and child. These tests have an accuracy range of between 90 and 99 percent. They can exclude a man who is not the biological father and can also show the likelihood of paternity if he is not excluded. Each party in...
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