Under Oregon’s child custody laws for unmarried parents, if a child is born to parents who are not married, the mother gets sole legal custody. Fathers can secure their parental rights only by establishing paternity. The law presumes that a person is the father of a child if the father’s name is listed on the child’s birth certificate.
There are a few other ways for a father to establish the paternity of a child in Oregon. If the mother is not married, a father may establish his paternity soon after the birth of a child by completing a form called a “Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity Affidavit.” Both parents must sign the form and have it notarized. They must then submit it to the Oregon Vital Records agency. A local attorney in Oregon would be able to provide more information.
Once both parents sign and notarize this form and file it with Oregon Vital Records, a biological father’s parental rights and responsibilities are recognized in Oregon law.
If the parents disagree about paternity, either one of them may initiate a legal proceeding in court to establish the paternity of the child. Or one parent may proceed through Oregon’s Child Support Program.
If one parent requests paternity through the Child Support Program, the other parent has 30 days to request genetic testing to establish the paternity of the child. If the other parent does not request testing within 30 days, then both parents are given equal rights and responsibilities with respect to the child. The father’s paternity is established legally.
Even if a child’s mother does not want to acknowledge a father’s paternity, the father may legally establish his paternity. A father can ask the CSP for help in becoming a legal parent. An unmarried father may also want a legal consultation with an Oregon custody attorney.
Establishing paternity is an essential step in obtaining a court order for custody-related issues. It ensures that both parents receive fair treatment in Oregon courts, whether or not they are married. After establishing paternity, either parent can petition for custody, visitation and child support.
If a father is not named on their child’s birth certificate, they must go through the process of establishing their paternity. On then would the father have these basic legal rights:
- The right to custody or visitation with their child
- The right to participate in decisions about how their children are raised
- The right to participate in decisions about medical, educational, and other issue
- The right to participate in financial decisions affecting their child
Of course, these rights are going to come with the obligation to pay child support.
Can an Unmarried Father Take a Child from the Mother?
It is unlikely that an unmarried father would be able to get sole custody of a child and exclude the mother from custody. A judge might determine that a parent may not see their child only if the judge has significant concerns about the safety of a child while it is in the custody of the parent, or a child has had no relationship with a parent who has been absent from the child’s life for a lengthy period of time.
This would only happen in the uncommon situation in which the mother risked the safety of the child. As mothers are given custody automatically when they are unmarried, it is very unlikely that the mother would not have a relationship with their child.
In a divorce, the court in which the parents file their petition for divorce automatically takes up the issues of custody, visitation, and child support if they have a child or children. Unmarried parents may also agree on a plan themselves, or one or the other must take legal action to get a court to hear the issues and rule on them.
What Will Likely Happen if There Is a Custody Battle Between Unmarried Parents?
Under Oregon law, unmarried parents have the same legal right to remain in their children’s lives as do married parents. If a parent has a history of abuse or lives in conditions that are unsafe, they may have trouble asserting this right. However, aside from these extreme situations, a parent is entitled to seek custody in court.
Again, this goes for unmarried parents in the same way as for divorcing couples. When making these rulings, the courts consider the same factors for married and unmarried parents. In making child custody decisions, the courts apply the best interest of the child standard.
A court might consider a wide range of factors, but basically, the parent who provides the most stable environment is likely to be granted custody. Factors such as a parent’s existing relationship with the child, location near the child’s school, and other factors have a lot of weight in a court.
Many judges do not want to disrupt a child’s established routine. As a result, if they can keep a child in the same school and/or in the same home, they would do that.
Whatever the marital status of the parents is, Oregon courts make decisions regarding custody, visitation and child support using the child’s best interest standard. Courts consider many different factors in deciding what is best for the child.
If the parents are on friendly terms, they may agree to a custody arrangement in a parenting agreement between themselves or through a mediator. If child custody is disputed, however, they must go to court for a child custody order issued by a judge.
Judges in Oregon are authorized to order either joint or sole physical custody of a child if the parents cannot agree on an arrangement. Courts in Oregon do not have a presumption in favor of joint custody. Again, a judge evaluates the specifics of the custody dispute to determine what custody arrangement is in the best interests of the child.
What Are Some Other Issues That Unmarried Parents May Experience?
Of course, unmarried parents have the same right as married parents to negotiate a parenting agreement for themselves. This may be referred to as a “parenting agreement,” a “parenting plan,” or a “joint custody schedule.” The agreement should include information about how the parents would manage custody of their child, visitation, and all the other legal issues involved in the care of their child.
The agreement should be drafted to address both types of custody, physical and legal. Again, physical custody is where a child lives, whether exclusively with one parent or for equal periods of time with each parent. Legal custody is the determination of which parent is to make the key decisions about the issues involved in a child’s upbringing, such as education, religion, health care, and the like.
Both kinds of custody can be sole or joint. Again, as to legal custody, sole custody would mean that one parent makes the choices about the child’s upbringing. For joint or shared legal custody, the parents would collaborate on decision-making.
For physical custody, sole custody would mean that a child would reside with one parent, and the other would have visitation. Or the child would live for some period of time with both parents on a regular basis in a joint or shared custody arrangement.
A good parenting plan would include a process for the parents to use if they share joint legal custody and make decisions together. The plan might provide that one parent or the other would have the final say regarding decision-making if the parents are not able to come to an agreement. It might also include a process for changing the plan, e.g., if one parent wants to move out of the state.
Of course, a complete parenting plan would have to address the issues of child support and how all of the costs associated with child rearing would be paid by the parents. It would also state how agreements regarding finances might be changed.
Attorneys would be able to help an unmarried couple negotiate a parenting plan. Mediation is a process that might also give unmarried parents the chance to come up with a plan that works best for them. The main goal is for the parents to agree on all plan terms. They may then submit it to the court.
The court would review the plan. If the court thinks it serves the best interests of the child, they would approve it and make it a court order in the future. The court would then enforce the order if either parent were to violate its terms.
If the parents are not successful in coming up with a plan for themselves, then either one may file a petition in family court in Oregon asking the court to approve their preferred plan. The court would have a hearing on the petition. The hearing would be like a trial in court, with the parties submitting evidence, but there would not be a jury. The judge would make a final decision after weighing the evidence and the arguments of the parties.
Do I Need an Attorney for Help with Child Custody Issues Between Unmarried Parents?
If you are not married to the mother of your child, you want to talk to an Oregon child custody lawyer. LegalMatch.com can connect you to a lawyer who can help you establish your paternity and assert your rights to a relationship with your child.
