How Can A Man Gain Custody Visitation Rights?

For a couple going through a divorce, or for an unmarried couple, often the most important aspect of separation they want to iron out is custody visitation rights. For a long time, based on statistics of custody hearings that have taken place, it was the mother who was usually favored. While the law has become more favorable to fathers and begun to recognize the importance of children having both parents, fathers may still have to negotiate in order to be granted visitation rights.  

How Can a Main Gain Custody Visitation Rights?

Visitation rights outline the amount of days that fathers are permitted to visit and spend time with their children. When a custody visitation agreement is in place, it is impossible for mothers to prohibit fathers from spending time with their children, since a court order entitles the father to these visitation rights. 

The process by which a man can gain custody visitation rights varies depending on whether the parents are married or not. Unmarried mothers often file a paternity suit. This is done in order to legally ascertain the father’s identity. Such a legal process is also done in order to obtain child support payments. Fathers may also file paternity suits in order to establish a record of parenthood or to request visitation rights. A child is also free to file a paternity suit in order to prove if a man is his father or not. For cases of adoptions, some government agencies can also step in to file paternity suits. 

One way to identify paternity is through a blood test. A blood test may be in response to a court order, should the parents fail to agree on the taking the test. If the results of the blood test indicate that the man in question is not the biological father of the child, the paternity suit will be dismissed. If the results prove the paternity of the man, the court will then work with both parents in order to arrive at a custody agreement as well as child support.  The father will then generally be entitled to some visitation.

For married couples, fathers are usually entitled to have visitation rights unless proven unfit. They may even be entitled to share in a joint custody, in which the father may have equal time with the child.

Getting Help

While a couple can work out a visitation and custody agreement on their own, to fully protect a father’s visitation rights, a court order may be needed. The court will only act in response to the best interests of the child or children involved. The judge will look in to the financial statuses of the parents, how much time available each parent has, the age of the child, and the child’s interests to determine visitation.  It is therefore very important for fathers to consult with family law attorneys in order to obtain visitation rights with their children. Fathers can contact family lawyers in their respective states in order to receive assistance.