Fathers’ Rights

 Posted on January 14, 2015 in Child Custody

More and more groups and firms are beginning to advertise that they tailor specifically towards “fathers’ rights.” You may be asking yourself why the need for all of this recent focus on fathers’ rights and how fathers’ rights actually differ from mothers’ rights in regards to domestic relations issues.

Fathers’ Rights and Custody Issues

Between the paternity laws and the number of mothers who obtain custody of the children, the issues of what happens when the children have limited or no time with their fathers is becoming a hot topic in the U.S. There have been countless studies that analyze the long-term effects on children who grow up without a father in their life. A recent Huffington Post article discussed the issue of how girls who grow up without fathers often suffer from low self-esteem issues and can have serious relationship problems as a result of not having a dad during their childhood. Another article explored a Canadian study that concluded lack of the paternal parent could cause children to become more aggressive later in life and possibly lead to a higher risk of substance abuse. Despite all of the studies that conclude it is beneficial to have a father in a child’s life, the law puts up certain barriers for fathers.

Under Illinois law, fathers are inherently treated differently. From the very beginning of a child’s life, mothers and fathers are viewed differently in the eyes of the law. If unmarried people have a child together, the mother is of course the legal mother, but the biological father must establish paternity of that child. If the mother happens to be married to another man at the time, her husband is legally presumed to be the father of the child, even if that is not the case. Until the parents sign a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity, an Order or Parentage is entered by a judge, or the Department of Healthcare and Family Services enters an Administrative Paternity Order, the biological father has no rights regarding his child.Unless paternity is established in one of these ways, the father has no right to help make decisions regarding the child and can’t even ask a court to grant him visitation time with his child.

Can We Help You?

If you are a father looking for specialized help in a family matter, contact the experienced DuPage County family law attorneys at Davi Law Group, LLC today to discuss how we can help your situation. Our attorneys can help fathers understand how to go about establishing legal paternity of their children and how to go about setting up visitation with their children. We deal with both fathers and mothers facing a variety of family legal issues and are well qualified to handle both sides of the issue. Call us today to discuss your family situation.