If you’re an unmarried mother, it can sometimes feel like the deck is stacked against you. You’re responsible for the care and well-being of your child, but you have fewer legal rights than if you were married to the father. It’s true that as an unmarried mother, there are some aspects of parenting that are more complicated than they would be if you were married. However, being unmarried also gives you some benefits: for example, if the father isn’t a good parent or doesn’t want to be in your child’s life at all, he can’t force his way into yours. In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about parental rights as an unmarried woman—and how to protect yourself. We’ll cover topics including child support, paternity laws and establishing paternity as suggested by Best Family Lawyer Auckland, and what happens when a parent tries to alienate their child from another parent.
Unmarried Mothers’ Rights and Child Support
Unmarried mothers are not eligible for child support. If you have a child with someone who has not married you and no court order has been issued, you may be able to pursue child support from the father. However, there is no legal obligation for the father to pay child support in this type of situation since he did not consent to be the parent of your child through marriage or court order.
Unmarried mothers are also not eligible for joint custody unless there is a written agreement or court order specifying that another party will share parenting responsibilities with an unmarried mother and father (in which case they would also be able to request visitation rights). In this case, it’s important that any agreements made between both parents are kept up-to-date so they continue being legally binding when disputes arise; otherwise, one parent could end up being denied access by another should they change their mind later on down the line (which could happen if things don’t go smoothly).
Another thing worth mentioning is that unmarried fathers face similar challenges as well! They’re unable to seek visitation rights without first obtaining legal consent from both parties involved–and because most women are hesitant about giving such permissions out of fear over financial responsibility or commitment issues from these men. It doesn’t often happen very often either way.”
Unmarried Fathers’ Rights/Paternity of a Child
If you didn’t get married before your child was born, but you are sure that the child is yours, then you have the same rights as a married father. This means that if your baby has been born and he/she needs to be taken care of, then you should be able to take them home with you.
However, this doesn’t mean that things will be easy for an unmarried father who wants to retain parental rights over their children. They will first have to prove paternity before they can get any legal protection or recognition from any state agencies or departments. In order for them to establish paternity of the child and their custodial rights without going through any formal proceedings in a court (which can be both expensive and time-consuming), there are several options available:
- A DNA test might work best if both parents agree on who fathered which child(ren). It’s also good news if both parties want something more solid than just having sex with each other; this way, they can still get some peace of mind regarding parenthood issues later down the line while also strengthening their relationship together as a couple! As long as everyone involved agrees on how much money they’re willing to spend
Parental Alienation and Visitation Rights
If a parent is alienated from their child, the court may be able to make orders about contact between them.
Parental alienation is a theory that explains how and why children are made to reject one of their parents by the other parent or other people involved with the family. The theory holds that this happens as part of psychological warfare in custody disputes, and it can leave children feeling extremely confused about who they should love. Their feelings toward one parent may be replaced by hatred for them, even though there was no reason for this hatred before.
The courts can deal with cases of parental alienation in two different ways: by granting rights to both parents equally; or by granting legal rights only to the parent with whom the child has been living (normally called “sole managing”). For example, if your child lives permanently with you but spends time at weekends and during holidays with your ex-partner, then you would likely qualify for sole managing rights unless there were exceptional circumstances which meant they needed shared care instead (for example, where one parent was unable to care properly due to illness).
As an unmarried mother, it’s important to understand your rights.
As an unmarried mother, it’s important to understand your rights. The following information is provided as a general guide to help you understand what you should expect and what steps you need to take.
The father of your child has the same rights as an unmarried mother if he asserts them:
- He can ask for custody or visitation.
- If he wants custody, he has to file a petition with the court within one year after the birth of his child or six months after learning about its birth (whichever comes first). If he does not file within this time period, he will not be allowed any further involvement in determining who gets custody of your child.
- He can ask for child support from either parent at any time until one year after the child turns 18 years old (or 19 years old if still attending high school).
Conclusion
Becoming a parent is one of the greatest gifts in life. It can also bring about some very complicated legal matters when you are unmarried and don’t know the father of your child. If you have questions about establishing paternity or any other legal matter related to parenting for unmarried parents, get in touch with an experienced Best Family Lawyer Auckland today.
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