Although it’s tragic to say, many fathers are often minimized when it comes to involvement in a child’s life and deciding what sort of custody arrangement best supports a child’s best interests. Yet, studies have shown time and again the enormous value an active and involved father can have on a child’s life.
Kids who have an active father tend to feel more socially secure, avoid risky behaviors and develop healthier relationships. There are multiple other benefits an active father can bring to a child’s life, too. So, if you want to enhance your child’s life, then now is the time to seek meaningful participation in their upbringing.
That said, sometimes it can be hard to exercise your father’s rights. You might be worried about your parenting abilities, or the child’s mother may actively try to keep you out of your child’s life. Regardless, the burden is on you to take legal action to secure your rights and your place in your child’s life. Let’s look at how you can do that.
How to protect your father’s rights
There are several steps you have to take to protect your father’s rights. Here are some of the most crucial that you’ll need to address if you want to become part of your child’s life:
- Establish paternity: You have no legal right to seek visitation or custody until you’ve established paternity. There are a couple of ways to do this. One is to sign a paternity affidavit with the child’s mother, agreeing that you’re the child’s father. Another way is to obtain a paternity decree from the court. With this option, you may have to submit DNA test results to conclusively establish that you’re the child’s biological father.
- Seek visitation: If you haven’t been around your child for a significant period of time, then the court may be hesitant to grant you a lot of parenting time, especially if your child’s mother raises concerns about your parenting abilities or the impact your contact will have on the child. Therefore, it’s best if you can figure out a visitation agreement with the mother that draws upon your amicable relationship and eliminates the need for a lot of court involvement. If that isn’t possible, then you’ll need to be ready to argue your position in court.
- Address parental interference: If your child’s mother is actively blocking you from having contact with your child, even after establishing paternity, then you may need to ask the court to address the matter. After all, isolating you from your child probably isn’t in the child’s best interest.
- Consider custody: Although it may seem like the law and the courts favor mothers when it comes to custody matters, the truth is that the law is gender neutral. So, if you think you can demonstrate that joint custody or securing sole custody of your child is in their best interests, then you should act on your father’s rights to ensure that you give your child the life they deserve. This, of course, will require you to file a motion with the court and present your position to a judge unless you can work out an arrangement with your child’s mother.
Confidently navigate your father’s rights
You have a lot of rights as a father once you establish paternity. But it’s up to you to secure and act on those rights. We know that can be a nerve-wracking process to navigate, but you can take the uncertainty out of the process by trying to collaboratively and amicably work with your child’s other parent to find a resolution that works for all involved. If you want to learn more about what that collaborative process can look like, then please continue to browse our blog posts and the rest of our website.