Children need their fathers. According to experts, children who grow up with a dad that is present and active in their lives benefit greatly in all areas of life, including relationships. There is no argument that a father’s role in his child’s life is important. The best-case scenario is that the father is involved with his child and has a good relationship with him or her.
Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.
Sometimes the mother does things to drive a wedge between father and child, or she actively prevents him from having any contact with his child. Family members may tell the child negative things about their father – which is parental alienation. And sometimes the father doesn’t know what his rights are so he does nothing which harms the relationship and the child.
A father is an important part of a child’s life. If you are a New York dad and have been denied that role or if you don’t know how to claim your legal rights to your child, it’s time to take action. You need an experienced New York father’s rights attorney to help you exercise your rights as a father. Your child deserves it.
What rights do fathers have in New York?
If the father is married to the mother, if the parents have signed an Acknowledgement of Paternity, have filed in court naming the biological father, or if the court has decided paternity and issued an Order of Filiation, then he is the legal father. As the legal father, he has certain rights and responsibilities to the child unless the court rules otherwise:
- Responsibility to support the child until its 21st birthday or until it is emancipated before reaching 21
- Right to act in an equal capacity to the mother in making important decisions for the child such as education or medical
- Right to parenting time or visitation with the child
- Right to seek physical and/or legal custody
The child also has certain rights when the father has established paternity:
- Child support
- Health insurance (father’s insurance plan)
- Social security benefits
- Inheritance
- Share in claims of wrongful death for the father
Do unmarried fathers have rights in New York?
If the father is not married to the mother, he has no legal paternal rights unless he established paternity. This means that she can move with the child, deny visitation, and prevent the father from having a relationship with his own child. However, it also means that he is not responsible for child support or putting the child on his health insurance policy.
Who has legal custody of a child when the parents are not married in NY?
When a baby is born to parents who are not married, sole custody of the child is automatically given to the mother. This means that she can choose to forbid the father to see the child until he has established paternity.
In order to claim legal rights to his child, the father must establish paternity.
How does a father establish parental rights to a child in New York?
There are three ways for a father to establish his parental rights in New York:
- He is married to the mother
- Unless a document is produced proving that someone else is the father of the child, the husband is automatically presumed to be the father and he has all legal rights to the child
- He is not married to the mother
- Acknowledgement of Paternity
- Order of Filiation
How does a father establish paternity in New York?
Since the father who is not married to the mother has no rights to his child unless paternity is established, he will need to take steps to have himself legally named as the father. If the parents are in agreement that he is the father and the mother was not married to anyone else at any point of her pregnancy, then they can sign an Acknowledgement of Paternity naming him the legal father.
Typically, the Acknowledgement of Paternity is signed when the baby is born, before it leaves the hospital. However, it can be signed at any time from the child’s birth until their 21st birthday. The form can be obtained through the hospital, Family Court, and the Department of Social Services in that area.
If either parent signs an Acknowledgement of Paternity and believes they made a mistake, they can vacate the Acknowledgement by filing a petition to vacate no later than 60 days after it was signed. If the petition to vacate the Acknowledgement is filed later than the 60-day deadline, the petitioner will be required to prove that there was a major mistake of fact, or fraud, or that they signed the Acknowledgement while under duress.
The court can be asked to establish paternity as well. Either parent can file a paternity petition in the Family Court. All parties that participate in the paternity case have a right to legal representation. The respondent can have an attorney assigned to them without charge if they can’t afford one. The person who filed the petition and any others will have to pay for their legal representation.
If no agreement on paternity exists, the court may order a DNA test. If the results show that the man is the biological father, the court will issue an Order of Filiation. This order legally establishes the man as the father of the child. If the DNA test shows that the man is not the biological father, the judge will dismiss the case.
If after the DNA test, the parents still do not agree on the paternity, the judge will order a hearing to review and consider the DNA test results. If the court determines that the man is the biological father of the child, it will issue an Order of Filiation.
Who can open a paternity case in New York?
There are several people who can open a paternity case:
- The mother
- The father
- A legal guardian
- Department of Social Services (if the child is on public assistance)
Can a mother move a child away from the father in New York?
If paternity has not been established in court, the mother has sole custody and can move the child away from the father without any legal ramifications.
If paternity has been established in court, the father has the right to contest the move or refuse it. The parents will need to petition the court to determine whether or not to let the child move. Ultimately, the court will decide on the action that is in the best interest of the child after considering several factors:
- Reason the parent wants to relocate
- Reason the non-custodial parent is opposing the move
- What impact the relocation would have on the custodial parent’s quality of life
- What impact the relocation would have on the child’s life
- The relationship between the child and the non-custodial parent
- The child’s school experience
- The child’s social life
- The child’s relationship with extended family where they are and where they want to move
- The quality of life of the child
Does a mother have more rights than the father in New York?
If the parents are not married and paternity has not been established, the mother definitely has more rights than the father. However, if paternity has been established or the parents are married, that levels the playing field. Both parents have a legal right to the child as the child’s legal parents.
Does a father have to pay child support to see his child in NY?
Parents have a legal obligation to support their children financially, but these obligations do not affect visitation rights. Visitations are not dependent upon the parent paying their child support.
Not paying child support is a violation of a court order and there can be serious consequences. A parent who has been ordered to pay child support but does not can incur fines, be put in jail, lose their driver’s license, or lose their professional licenses.
If the custodial parent refuses to allow visitation or interferes with the court-ordered visitation because the non-custodial parent has not paid child support, then the custodial parent is in violation of the court order and may also be subject to sanctions.
Fathers are important in their children’s lives. At the Litvak Law Firm we believe that fathers should have all the legal rights to their children to which they are entitled. Our experienced team of talented, driven father’s rights attorneys is committed to helping fathers establish legal paternity and claim the rights to their children that the law provides.
Call 718-989-2908 today for your free consultation and protect your right to be a father to your child.