Are There Parental Rights For Unmarried Couples?

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Are There Parental Rights For Unmarried Couples?
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If you find yourself in a situation where you and
your girlfriend got a baby, without getting
married, there are things that you should know
that could affect your responsibilities and your
rights as a parent. To assume your role as a
father, you have to first take care of the legal
documents and legal work. There are many babies
born outside of marriage. However, without
establishing paternity, fathers are not eligible
to impact the babys life in any way (legally).
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Since mothers gave birth to children, they are
immediately granted all parental rights,
regardless of whether or not they are married.
However, the law is a bit different for fathers.
For the father to be recognized as such in the
eyes of law, he has to establish paternity over
the child. Without doing so, the unwed father has
no right or legal standing towards

• Visitation
• Shared custody
• Impacting the childs life in any way

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The easiest way to establish paternity is by
making sure that the fathers name is on the
babys birth certificate. However, that requires
being with the mother at the hospital when the
baby is born and help with the birth certificate
forms. The mother can contest the fathers
paternity, and in that case, the father has the
right to contact a government agency like the
Child Support Enforcement Division. Another
option is to get an attorney and petition a court
to establish paternity. Contact a parental rights
attorney in Salt Lake City Emy Cordano will guide
you through the process and help you establish
paternity.
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Gaining Custody Rights
Once you have established paternity, you can work
on establishing your custody status. Legally
speaking, a father has the same custodial rights
as the mother. If the child is being raised
together by both parents, under the same roof,
custody will not be an issue. However, that is
not always the case. If the parents are
separated, the father will have to petition a
court to establish his custody rights.
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Generally speaking, fathers are at a disadvantage
in a custody process simply because government
agencies (and family court judges) presume that
the child should be with his/her mother unless it
is detrimental to the child. And unless a mother
is unfit to raise her child, the father can
petition for a joint or shared custody, or at
least get visitation rights. If you are dealing
with parental rights, and the other parent is not
cooperating, contact a Salt Lake City family law
attorney Emy Cordano. She will guide you through
the process and helps you establish your parental
rights, as well as custody of your child.
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Contact Emy Cordano, Attorney at Law
ADDRESS 6465 S 3000 E, Suite 103 Salt Lake
City, UT 84121
PHONE NO. 801-804-5152
WEBSITE www.cor-law.com/contact-us.html
THANK YOU!