Fathers’ Custody Rights

The fathers’ visitation right is one of the most violated rights in our society. This situation appears because the mother of the child is usually given custody. In some cases, the father has to fight in order to see his children. When a man is declared the legal father of a child, his name will be entered on the child’s birth certificate, near the name of the child’s mother. This means that both the mother and the father are equals in parental rights. Regardless of this, after a divorce, fathers are often at the mercy of their ex-partners or the courts in enforcing their rights to visitation with their own children. The whole issue of fathers’ rights is a growing area of the law. Issues surrounding child support, visitation rights, joint custody and child safety are being defined daily in the courts. Throughout history the legal presumptions about child custody for fathers has changed significantly.
Nowadays the legal system slowly began to understand that children benefited most from having both parents in their lives growing up, not just one. Despite this fact, moms are still awarded custody in 70% of all child custody cases. Joint custody is awarded about 20% of the time and sole custody for fathers is awarded less than 10% of the time. From 1991 to present, 40% of all child custody cases gave no custody for fathers. This means barring them from both visitation and access rights.
Family law judges award custody rights after the best interest of the children involved in the dispute. If a judge determines that the child would benefit most from having his father by his side, he will award sole or joint child custody for the father. As you probably know, joint custody for fathers and mothers shares the rights and responsibilities for the children between the two parents as set forth in a parenting. This plan will detail the rights of each parent. A high regard will be given to who will make the major decisions affecting the child’s life. For example, with which of the parents the child will live with, where the child will spend his weekends, summers, holidays, or other legal custody issues.
In order for the court to determine the right custody agreement suited for the children, an evaluation of the custody for the mother and father is required. This evaluation is based on many facts and an important fact is the testimony of the child itself. Many family courts will often hear the testimony of children at any age (special discretion is applied for younger children). In addition to what the child wants, the judge will often demand testimony from a psychologist who has evaluated the child custody case. This expert will evaluate the recommendation on any or all of the following: past parenting history, history of abuse or neglect, personal behaviors, household stability, time available, and other relevant factors.
Custody rights for fathers can be a difficult battle. This battle becomes harsher when maternal custody rights are automatically favored by the family court.

What are my rights as a father?

If you want to protect your father visitation rights, you must know how to react to any potential situations that might arise. Keep in mind that your scheduled time with your child is YOUR time and if your ex-spouse schedules activities during your scheduled visitation time, take her to the court to hold her in contempt.
Also, if your spouse withholds all visitation sights, call the police and get a police report as soon as possible. Be careful not to engage in any form of verbal abuse or any other tactics as this could lead to your arrest. You have the right to visit your child, but not without a visitation order. If you don’t have that order of visitation, have your lawyer obtain it. If you do have one and your ex-spouse neglects your visitation rights, have your attorney seek court enforcement and an additional charge of contempt. If you wait too long to get court action, this might make the court think you’re really not that concerned and it might influence the final decision.
One of the things you don’t want to do is withhold child support because of you ex-spouse’s denial of father visitation rights. Because these are two separate issues it can hurt you if you do so without the approval of a court order.
In the event unfortunate event that your ex-spouse is intending to move out of state and take the children, you must act quickly to protect your father visitation rights. Have your lawyer immediately go to the judge and ask that your ex-spouse be restrained from moving the children without written permission from the court. You must do this before she leaves because it’s much easier to stop your ex-spouse from moving than it is to get her back.
Whatever you read and whatever others tell you, the best way to protect your father visitation rights is to know exactly what they are. You can find out your rights by consulting an experienced attorney. He can help explain what your father visitation rights are and how to handle any situations that arise.