When a couple is married in Michigan, both of the spouses are recognized as the child’s legal parents. Both same-sex and opposite-sex relationships can benefit from this. How is this going to work with unmarried couples? Determining parental rights, such as child custody, can be quite challenging, but more so for the biological father than for the mother.
How unmarried moms can get full custody is not really an appropriate question. In a non-marital partnership, the mother is already presumed to have full custody in Michigan. With married couples, the situation isn’t truly the same. When two people get married, it is assumed both parents will have custody.
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A motion for custody may need to be made by the father in a non-marital partnership. In the best-case scenario, the father may have joint legal custody. In a non-marital union, it is assumed that the child will stay with the mother for the child’s stability and protection unless the mother is deemed unfit. Until proven otherwise, the unmarried mother is granted complete custody.
Why Is the Issue of Custody Important for Unmarried Moms?
Did you know that in the United States in 2021, there were an additional 15.62 million families with single moms? This translates to a total of 24 million children living in single-parent families. In America, this sum, which has been rising for half a century, affects nearly one in three children. Numerous long-term demographic trends, such as postponing marriage, declining marriage rates, rising divorce rates, and an increase in children born to single moms, have contributed to this rise.
According to information from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, a record high of over 43% of Michigan women who gave birth in 2015 were not married, up from 24% in 1989. Using 2015 Children Count data, it ranks Michigan’s 83 counties according to the percentage of births to unmarried moms.
The county with the greatest proportion is Lake County, which is situated on the western border of the state between Grand Rapids and Cadillac. Additionally, Lake County is among the poorest in the state.
In Lake County, 60% of pregnant women in 2015 were single.
The question of custody for unmarried moms is becoming important and relevant today with a growing population of single moms not only in Michigan but in the whole of the U.S. It can be a driver for a host of national and statewide social issues mostly affecting generations of children.
Are There Differences in Maternity-Paternity Rights Between Married and Unmarried Parents?
When a married couple in Michigan files for divorce, it is typical to assume that the parents will split physical custody while sharing legal custody of any children from the marriage. The child’s biological mother is assumed to have sole legal and physical custody in custody disputes involving unmarried parents.
In a relationship of two unmarried parents, clearly by default, the mother gets to be the custodial parent. The father however still needs to establish his status as a parent through legal and extra-legal means.
Unmarried fathers can voluntarily establish paternity with the mother’s consent by executing an Affidavit of Parentage at the hospital where the child is born or at a later time. If paternity is disputed, a father can legally prove parenthood through a procedure that often includes genetic testing to demonstrate a biological connection.
After establishing paternity, a father will need to take extralegal action to establish a new parenting arrangement. But keep in mind that if the mother of the child is married to another man, that man will already be assumed to be the child’s legal father, giving a biological father a very tough time establishing paternity and gaining parenting rights.
How Is Child Custody in an Unmarried Relationship?
If the parents are not married, the mother is assumed to have custody until the court renders a decision. In Michigan, unmarried mothers are assumed to have sole custody of their children, both legally and physically, unless the child’s father has been acknowledged by the courts. However, if paternity has been confirmed, the father of the child is entitled to make a custody claim in the same manner as if the parents were married.
The affidavit of parentage grants the mother primary custody of the child; the father is not awarded visitation privileges. To enforce his rights to custody and parenting time, the father must file a custody action with the court. An Order of Filiation, which was filed with the court, is a legal document governing child support, custody, and parenting time. A father needs this order or something similar to enforce his rights to custody and visitation.
There are some obvious benefits to the Affidavit of Parentage. The father’s signature verifies that he is the child’s father. By getting his name added to the birth certificate of the child, he can exercise his rights to custody and visitation.
Affidavits of Parentage should not be signed by fathers who are unsure of the child’s parentage because doing so waives the right to later request a paternity test to establish biological parentage. However, if a single man is positive he is the father, he should affix his signature to an Affidavit of Parentage either at the moment of the baby’s birth or at any later date. With the help of this document, a man can prove that he is the child’s biological father, and his name will be placed on the birth certificate. Additionally, custodial rights are established.
To summarize, this is what is in store for you in a custody case for unmarried parents:
[ a ] Unmarried fathers have the right to submit a Notice of Intent to Claim Paternity before or following the birth of a child.
[ b ] If the mother was married at the time of the child’s birth, unmarried fathers are not entitled to support or visitation (must mutually establish paternity first).
[ c ] Fathers who are not married have the option of gaining physical custody of their children through adoption or court order.
[ d ] Until the biological father receives a court order granting him custody rights, the unmarried mother is believed to have primary custody of the child.
A parent does not avoid having to pay child support if he decides not to sign an Affidavit of Parentage. A father cannot be made to provide support if he refuses to acknowledge paternity. The mother or the State of Michigan, however, may first bring a child support action. In order to establish paternity and request a child support determination, a mother may initiate her own legal case.
We have also covered this topic on unmarried parents in our article, “Who Has Custody of A Child If There Is No Court Order in Michigan?” in which we discussed child custody issues for unmarried couples as well as parental rights.
In plain language, a biological father simply cannot take a child from the mother without obtaining a court order. The father has the option of paternity action or going for adoption.
How Can Unmarried Moms Get Full Custody?
The biological mother will initially receive primary custody in a disagreement over child custody between unmarried parents. In addition, the mother will continue to have primary custody while paternity litigation is ongoing, and the father won’t be allowed to have custody or visits during this period unless an affidavit of parentage is provided.
By default, the mother doesn’t have to fight for custody. The mother has sole custody, legally and physically.
The main challenge for the mother is when the father aggressively pursues custody or a third party challenges her parental rights.
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Goldman & Associates Law Firm is here to with information about Child Custody and Divorce in the State of Michigan.