When going through a divorce, child custody is usually one of the most significant and 
most hotly contested issues. And it is difficult enough when the parents are married, but what about when they are not married?
If you are trying to figure out what will happen to your child custody arrangement after a break-up, make sure you know which factors the court considers before making any custody orders.
Establishing Parental Rights
For married parents, determining parental rights is usually very straightforward, but when a child’s parents are unmarried, it can be much more difficult to determine parental rights. And, in order to obtain any type of custodial rights, you must first establish that you have parental rights to the child in question. In Washington, as in most states, unmarried fathers must establish paternity in order to receive acknowledgment as the child’s legal parent.
Without establishing paternity, an unmarried father will not automatically receive parental rights, even if he is the child’s biological father and has assumed a paternal role in the child’s life. A biological mother, on the other hand, is automatically granted parental rights. Likewise, if a married woman gives birth, her husband is presumed to be the father and he receives parental rights automatically.
In order to establish parental rights, an unmarried father must sign an acknowledgment of paternity, along with the child’s mother. Or, if the child’s mother will not sign the acknowledgement, the father can file a petition to establish parentage through the court, which usually involves genetic testing to confirm the paternity.
Once a father obtains paternal rights, he has the right to pursue custody in the same way a mother would. Both mothers and fathers have equal rights to child custody.
How is Child Custody Determined?
Child custody is determined on a case-by-case basis, which means there is no standard arrangement that all unmarried couples use when they break up. Parents have the option of settling a parenting plan through mediation or outside of court, but if they are not able to reach an agreement on their own, they will have to bring their case before a judge.
In court, the judge will consider the following factors before determining child custody:
•The child’s relationship with each parent
•Each parent’s health and ability to care for the child
•The child’s relationship with each parent’s community, household, and other family members
•If one parent acted as the child’s primary caregiver in the past
•The child’s wishes, if the child is deemed mature enough to express an opinion
•Any history of domestic violence or abuse
What Are Our Custody Options?
Depending on each of these factors, the judge may decide to grant joint or sole custody. In a joint custody arrangement, the parents will share parenting time somewhat equally. If one parent is granted sole custody, the other parent will be scheduled specific visitation time with the child on a regular basis. In rare cases, usually when child abuse has occurred, the court may grant one parent sole custody without allowing the other parent any visitation rights, or only supervised visits with a social worker present.
Steven W. Hair, focuses his practice as a divorce attorney, family law attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, and Safety Harbor.
For more information, visit our website at www.FamilyLawClearwater.com
or call (727) 726-0797.