Child Custody Laws in Florida for Unmarried Parents

A parent with a timeshare majority can apply for family allowances from the other legal parent. The method of determining family allowances for unmarried parents is the same as for divorced parents. Parents should consult the Florida Child Support Guidelines worksheet to determine the amount of child support that should contribute monthly. A parent who does not pay family allowances on time and/or in full may face serious consequences from the court. After establishing paternity, the court will create a timeshare and custody plan. The court also calculates family allowances. Once paternity is established, cases of unmarried couples generally proceed in the same way as cases of formerly married couples. Both parents will present their plans for the child, and the court will decide on the basis of the best interests of the child after considering several factors. As an unmarried father, you can file a petition to establish paternity and associated compensation if the attempt at voluntary recognition of paternity does not work. When you fill out the form, ask the court to set paternity and a timeshare schedule and child support. Florida law requires parents to develop and submit a parenting plan.

Parental plans specify how to manage decision-making and parental responsibility. A parenting plan should specify which parent makes decisions about a child: divorced parents must respect the visitation agreement they have agreed to or the agreement imposed by the court. However, if the efforts of a non-custodial parent to spend court-ordered visiting time with their child are blocked or thwarted by the non-custodial parent, the non-custodial parent must sue and ask a judge to enforce the access order. In South Florida, custodial parents can get legal help by contacting an experienced family law attorney in Boca Raton. In addition, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (which Florida passed) requires the child`s home state — that is, the child`s state within six months of the commencement of the proceedings, even if the child is not currently in the state — to make an initial custody decision. This means that if the mother has moved, the court can order the child`s return to Florida. While there are well-known procedures for managing custody when married parents divorce, you may be less sure what will happen if you separate from a partner you`re not married to and with whom you have children. Although this is a common phenomenon, unfortunately, the system for dealing with this situation is complex and little known, so it is important that unmarried parents know their rights when separating from their partner. To help you get a better idea of what to expect, here`s a brief overview of how childcare works with unmarried parents in Florida. It may surprise most to learn that in Florida (as in most other states), when two parents are not married, a father has no rights to his biological child unless he officially establishes paternity, even if his name appears on the birth certificate. This means that by default, the child`s biological mother has full legal and physical custody of the child until paternity is established by the court.

Once this is the case, the father can participate in these legal rights. It is exactly the opposite for a married couple, where the husband is assumed to be the biological father of a child born during the marriage and has the same custody as the mother at the birth of the child. Unlike married fathers, unmarried fathers in Florida are not automatically considered the legal parents of their children at the birth of their children. Unmarried fathers must establish paternity in order to obtain legal rights for their children in the event of separation. If you and your partner, with whom you have children, are separating and not married, you may be wondering who will be appointed as guardian. Under Florida law, the mother is the natural guardian of a child born out of wedlock. The mother automatically has custody of the child in the event of separation from an unmarried couple. Even if the father`s name appears on the birth certificate, this does not automatically grant the father`s right in Florida, because in most cases, paternity must be established before the rights are granted to the unmarried father. Indeed, if paternity is not established, the mother is not obliged to offer a visit to the father; However, this does not mean that the father has no choice in these circumstances. Where both parents of a child are legally established, the unmarried parents follow the same procedures for obtaining custody, access and child support as if they were married. You could go through something similar to mediation to discuss scheduling, financial, and living conditions. However, if the child was born to the single mother without legally establishing paternity of the father, the mother has sole custody of the child in the state of Florida.

In Florida, a mother has the right to grant or deny visitation rights to the father of a child if the two are not married. Denying a father`s visitation rights is common when a couple is about to separate. But even in the event of separation, a court can grant visitation rights to a single father if he can establish paternity. The first legal way to establish paternity is through voluntary recognition. Both parents must sign and submit the acknowledgement of paternity. However, in the event of a dispute, the father may use the second method of establishing paternity. A parent who does not pay child support may experience one of the following problems: Actual custody of the child is usually shared equally by both parents, with the child spending a few days or weeks with one of the parents and other times with the other parent. In some states, a court will grant “joint custody” to both parents provided that one of the parents is the “primary physical guardian.” In other states, the court is granted “primary” custody to one parent, while the other parent is granted “reasonable” access rights. In Florida, unmarried fathers must prove paternity in order to assert their rights.

There is a widespread myth that the law favours mothers in custodial matters. But Florida law has no preference for both parents when it comes to custody and parental rights. If you have any questions or concerns about your rights as an unmarried parent, it is important to speak to a custodial lawyer in Boca Raton as soon as possible. Even if there are no conflicts or obstacles now, there could be in the future. A family law lawyer can help you provide proof of paternity, obtain access, or establish joint custody. A lawyer can also help protect your child from a parent who doesn`t have their best interests in mind.