If you're a father seeking sole custody, consult with or hire an attorney to help you prove that harm would come to your child if he lives with his mother. Excluding the other parent from a child’s life is a drastic measure. Regardless of gender, courts are usually suspicious of the motives of any parent who petitions for sole custody. It is also unlikely that a court would award a father sole custody in this situation. However, unless the child’s mother is unfit, most courts will not take custody away from her if the parents were never married. If the test is positive for paternity, a father must then petition the court a second time for custody and visitation rights. This usually involves petitioning the court for an order directing the mother to produce the child for a blood test, unless she agrees to voluntarily do so. In this case, a father has no rights at all, even to visitation, until he legally establishes his paternity. This is especially true when a father's name does not appear on his child’s birth certificate. In most states, unwed mothers have sole custody from the time they give birth.
Generally, he must prove that the mother is unfit, or that he was his child’s primary caregiver when the family was intact - and that relationship should not be disrupted.
A father who wants to overcome this hurdle and achieve sole custody must generally prove that living with the mother would be detrimental to his child. This usually means frequent and meaningful contact between children and both parents. Technically, courts must decide custody in a way that ensures the health and well-being of the children.
This change in legislation allows fathers a fighting chance for sole custody in some situations.Ī concept called the best interest of the child replaced the tender years doctrine in the millennium. Their laws instruct judges not to consider a parent’s gender in custody decisions.
#Custody change form code
Most states have now abolished tender years language from their family code legislations. This doctrine states that mothers are more emotionally suited to nurturing their children, especially very young children. That trend reversed in the early part of the 20th century when states adopted the tender years doctrine. In cases of divorce, children stayed with their dads. In the 19th century, the law considered children a father’s property.
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