Parental Rights & Obligations

questions & answers

Question: If a child is born out of wedlock and the parents later marry,then separate does the father have equal paternal rights to that child?

Answer:

Any biological father is going to have the right to sue for paternity under ARS 25-801 through -818, irrespective of whether the couple ever married or not. Here are two of the more important statutes in that group of laws (A.R.S.sections 25-803 and 25-806)  If, in fact, the man is the father, and the court makes such a finding in the paternity action, then he will have the right to request legal custody and/or parenting time to the same extent as the mother.

By the same token, however, he potentially will have to answer for child support too, and this will depend on each parent's income. Unless the father formally adopted the child during the marriage, he will need to file the paternity petition before asserting rights as the father. The father could even do so as part of the separation case (unless it's already done). If he accomplished a formal adoption during the marriage, however, then he already has co-equal status with the mother as a legal parent. He does not need to file a new petition under the paternity statute.