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You’re probably wondering if there are ANY unmarried fathers rights in Georgia.Â
This article is going over:
Let’s dig in.
Custody can be devastating. It’s heartbreaking when parents lose custody of their children. Spouses end up having to pay agonizing amounts of financial support.
If you want to protect your rights, not wrongfully lose custody, and not get raked over the coals financially, fill out the form below. Free consultations are first come first serve. We always run out of slots. Make sure you get yours locked in now.
In Georgia, the custody laws for unmarried parents give mothers full legal custody automatically.Â
This means that unmarried father’s rights in Georgia do not exist.Â
For an unmarried father to establish any rights, he has to:
So, the steps are to establish paternity and then file for legitimation.Â
The area between establishing paternity and legitimation is a grey area for unmarried fathers rights in Georgia.Â
After the father establishes paternity, he does not have any parental rights in Georgia.
But he will still owe child support even though he has zero visitation or child custody rights.
This is the grey area about this.Â
After you establish paternity, you will owe child support.Â
But until you legitimize the child, you still have zero parental rights to the child.
This is why it’s important for you to work with an experienced child custody lawyer in Georgia.Â
If you’re like our other clients, you probably want to minimize the time where you owe child support with zero rights to the child.
It’s true that unmarried mothers have full legal and physical custody.
But an unmarried father who has NOT established paternity does not owe any child support.
(Don’t let anyone try to trick you into believing this.)
An unmarried father does not owe any child support until he establishes paternity.
Only married fathers automatically owe child support.Â
But remember that paying child support does not provide an unmarried father with any parental rights in Georgia.
Sadly, even legitimizing a child doesn’t automatically give unmarried fathers rights in Georgia.
After you legitimize the child, you only have the ABILITY to file for custody and visitation.
This means that until you legitimize the child, you can’t request custody or visitation.Â
But after you legitimize the child, you are able to file a petition for custody and visitation.Â
You still have to go through the entire custody battle for fathers after paternity and legitimization.Â
Related: What Are The Chances Of A Father Getting Full Custody
Parental rights in Georgia do not exist for unmarried fathers.
An unmarried father must establish paternity and legitimize his child.
After this, an unmarried father has paternal rights in Georgia.
He can file a petition for visitation and custody of the child.
Related: Custody Battle For Fathers
Again, unmarried fathers rights in Georgia are non-existent.
When two parents are unmarried, only the mother has legal or physical custody rights.
Unmarried father’s rights in Georgia are not automatic.
This is true even if the parents have been in a committed relationship for years.
Georgia custody laws for unmarried parents give the mother sole legal and physical custody.
She has full parental power.
She gets entitled to full custody against the biological father.
The only way she loses full custody is if the father establishes paternity and petitions for custody.
If a father is not on the birth certificate, the father has zero rights to the child.
The father has the right to establish paternity and then file for custody and visitation.
Child custody laws in Georgia say that a father does not have rights even if he’s on the birth certificate.
This includes visitation and custody rights for unmarried fathers who are on the birth certificate.
If a father is on the birth certificate, the only right he has is the right to establish paternity.
To get unmarried fathers rights in Georgia, the father has to establish paternity and legitimation.Â
When an unmarried father establishes paternity, it legally formalizes the relationship between him and the child.
To establish paternity in Georgia, an unmarried father can:
Related: If There Is No Custody Order In Place Can I Take My Child?
For the custody laws for unmarried parents, there are two ways to legitimize a child in Georgia.
You can legitimize a child in Georgia by:
Establishing paternity in Georgia does not give an unmarried father custody or visitation rights.
Georgia custody laws differentiate between paternity and legitimization.
Legitimization in Georgia established a legal relationship between the unmarried father and child.
Legitimization allows an unmarried father to seek visitation and child custody.
Establishing paternity in Georgia allows an unmarried father to get added to the birth certificate.
After paternity gets established, a father is responsible for child support.
Only establish paternity if you’re trying to get legitimized.
This is because establishing paternity means you’re paying child support.
But without legitimization, you still have no custody rights.
Related: Reasons a Judge Will Change Custody
Legitimation is a way that an unmarried fathers rights in Georgia can get legally established.
To establish legitimation, an unmarried father needs to file a petition for legitimation.
The petition for legitimation can include claims for visitation and custody.
Note that you don’t automatically get granted legitimation of your child.
A mother can contest a legitimation in Georgia.
Her grounds to contest a legitimation can be:
You will have to take a DNA test and prove that you are a fit father.Â
Related: Grounds for Full Custody of Child
If you want the best attorneys to represent you, fill out the form below.
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This means that you don’t wrongfully lose custody of your children.
Fathers who hire us get the custody they deserve.
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This means you don’t get raked over the coals financially.
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