Child Custody and Child Support Rights of Unmarried Parents

Unmarried parents have rights to custody and child support.   Understanding those legal rights and responsibilities is crucial to ensuring that the best interest of your child is met. Here’s an overview of what unmarried parents in California need to know.

• Establishing Parentage:

Before child custody or child support can be addressed, parentage (paternity) must first be established. This means determining who the child’s legal parents are. If parentage is disputed, either parent can file an action requesting an official parentage determination.  The Court will often ask if a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity was signed at the hospital when the child was born.

Once parentage is legally established, both parents have legal rights and responsibilities for their child, concerning the child, including custody, visitation, and support.

• Child Custody: 

There are two types of child custody in California:  Legal custody:  The right to make important decisions about the child’s health, education, and welfare and Physical custody: Where the child lives and who provides their daily care.

Absent a court order, both parents have the same rights and responsibilities for taking care of the child. However, when custody is legally decided, the Court may grant legal and physical custody either jointly to both parents (joint custody) or solely to one parent (sole custody).  Courts determine custody based on what is in the best interest of the child, considering factors such as the child’s age and health, safety, emotional ties to each parent, connection to their community, and the ability of each parent to care for the child.

• Child Visitation/Parenting Plans:

Courts encourage frequent and continuing contact with the child and both parents whenever possible. If one parent is granted sole physical custody, the other parent is typically awarded visitation rights, unless it would be detrimental to the child to do so. Common visitation/parenting plan arrangements include:

• Scheduled visitation: A specific, set schedule that includes the dates and times when the child will be with each parent. If there are concerns about the child’s safety while in the care of one parent, a Court may consider ordering supervised visitation with a professional or non-professional supervisor.
• Reasonable visitation: An open-ended agreement with flexible scheduling that allows parents to determine the visitation schedule “as they go”. This works for parents with flexibility and good communication. 

• Child Support:

Child support ensures that the child’s financial needs, such as living and medical expenses, are met. Both parents are legally obligated to contribute to the child’s financial support, regardless of their marital status. The amount of support is determined based upon factors that include each parent’s income and the amount of time the child spends with each parent.  Support usually continues until the child turns 18 (or 19 if the child is still enrolled in high school).

• Conclusion:

Whether you’re seeking to establish parentage, work out child custody, or calculate child support, consider scheduling an initial consultation with Mello & Pickering, LLP. We are committed to helping parents achieve a resolution to their child custody and support matters while taking into consideration the best interests of the children. Our law firm is conveniently located in San Jose, California, which allows us to represent clients in Santa Clara County, including Morgan Hill, San Jose, Santa Clara, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Los Altos, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Milpitas, Palo Alto, Campbell, and Gilroy. Please call us at (408) 288-7800 to schedule an initial consultation.