Houston Family Law Attorney: A Guide On Knowing Your Rights As An Unmarried Parent

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Houston Family Law Attorney: A Guide On Knowing Your Rights As An Unmarried Parent

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From a legal standpoint, what do full parental rights and responsibilities actually mean?  You may need help from the best family law attorney in Houston for this type of situation.  In a nutshell, it covers the right and responsibility:

  1. To care for a child;
  2. Maintain contact with a child;
  3. Act as the child’s guardian; and
  4. Contribute to the child’s maintenance.

Who has full parental rights?

Houston Family Law Attorney: A Guide On Knowing Your Rights As An Unmarried Parent holding baby

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  1. A female or male child becomes a major when they reach 18 years old.
  2. A child’s biological mother will have full parental responsibilities and rights towards the child, whether she is unmarried or married.
  3. A child’s biological father will have full parental responsibilities and right towards the child, whether or not he is married to the mother of the child or was married to the mother at the time the child was conceived, at birth, or at any time in between the conception and birth of the child.
  4. An unmarried biological father of a child acquires full parental responsibilities automatically if:
  5. he is living in a permanent partnership with the mother when the child is born or
  6. if, regardless of whether or not he is living with or has lived with the mother:

– contents to be identified as the father of the child or successfully applies to be identified as the father or the child or pay damages according to customary law.

So, what does it mean?

Houston Family Law Attorney: A Guide On Knowing Your Rights As An Unmarried Parent mother and child

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Whether the parents conceive a child and are married, or remain unmarried, or marry after the child is conceived but before the birth, it doesn’t matter.  If the parents have obtained full parental responsibilities and rights automatically according to the Children’s Act, then both of them are responsible for the child, unless otherwise ordered by a court.  When the parents of a child are not married, parental responsibilities and rights are still automatically acquired by the father if all of the requirements detailed above are met.

What if an unmarried father doesn’t contribute?

Houston Family Law Attorney: A Guide On Knowing Your Rights As An Unmarried Parent holding hands

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If it is disputed by the mother that these requirements have been fulfilled by the father, then the matter needs to be referred to mediation to a social service professional, social worker, family advocate, or other people who are suitably qualified (like an attorney). At the request of the parents, the court may review the mediation’s outcome.  Fathers have the same responsibilities and rights. Under the old rule, when parents were divorced, one of the parents (which was usually the mother) was awarded custody of minor children, while the other parent (who was usually the father) would be given rights of access.  Normally the custodial parent was vested with making all major and day-to-day decisions for the minor child, which included where the child lived, the religion that the child practiced, and school the child attended. This is no longer true.  Both parents have full parental rights and responsibilities now, even if they no longer date or after a divorce unless otherwise ordered by a court. All major decisions that relate to a minor child must take both parents wishes and views into consideration, and the wishes and views of the child, with the child’s stage of development, maturity, and age is taken into account. The situation is much healthier for the child.

Author’s Bio:

Houston Family Law Attorney: A Guide On Knowing Your Rights As An Unmarried Parent author bioLaurence is a person who works for a law firm as consultant/counselor. He is usually the one who performs counseling for couples who are planning to be divorced. He has already satisfied clients all over America.

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