Steps For Father To Gain Legal Custody

Fathers have traditionally gotten an unfair shake in the legal system. Decisions are made by judges, who live in conventional society, where the mother/child bond is considered superior to the father/child bond. Fortunately, times are changing and courts are catching up but this prejudice is something fathers should be aware of.

What is Legal Custody?

Legal custody is not “custody” in the sense of having children present in the household.

Legal custody means that the father gets to make decisions for the children as their parent such as where the children go to school, where/if they practice religious activities, medical decisions, extracurricular activities, etc.

Gaining Legal Custody

As a father, the man has the same and equal rights as the mother to make decisions for their children's welfare and well-being. Courts do not tend to take decision making authority away from a father unless:

• The father's parental rights have been terminated

• The father is deemed unfit by the court to make these decisions

• The father has abandoned the children

If a father has been present in his children's lives and is fit to have decision making authority over such things, the court will more likely allow him to act. If the father is getting visitation, the court will most likely want to grant legal custody so the father can make decisions if one of those decisions must be made quickly and the mother is unavailable to make a decision.

Generally, a court will want both parents to have legal custody since a primary aim of family law is to keep families intact and encourage each parent to be treated with equality under the law.

Courts also prefer to avoid scenarios such as children being rushed to the emergency room by a father without legal custody who has to wait on an absentee mother before critical decisions can be made. In that situation, fathers do not need to be forced to decide between complying with a court order and risking a child's welfare.

Getting Legal Advice

No father should go to court without securing representation from a licensed Family Law attorney in his state, ideally one who has successfully worked with fathers in the past. Laws in this area are blind to gender but a trained attorney is more familiar with the legal system as a whole. Attorneys who have worked with fathers are even more prepared to help.