Advocates for Fathers’ Rights in New Jersey
Advocates for Fathers’ Rights in New
Jersey
Long
gone are the days when a father attempts to shirk responsibility for a child
born out of wedlock, as many fathers today welcome the opportunity to be a part
of their child’s life. They want to have a say in important decisions regarding
child-rearing, spend time with their offspring, and are willing to provide the
necessary financial support. Fortunately, state laws do favor an arrangement
that enables a child to have a relationship with both parents, so you do enjoy fathers’ rights in New
Jersey.
Our lawyers at Giro Attorneys at Law, LLC are
dedicated to ensuring protection of your legal rights as a father. We have
decades of experience serving clients in Bergen County, NJ and throughout the
surrounding area, so our attorneys are knowledgeable in the laws establishing
fathers’ rights. At the same time, our legal team has the compassion necessary
to understand how many of these issues are quite personal in nature.
Enforcing Your Right to a
Relationship with Your Child
If
you were not married to the child’s mother, you must first establish paternity
of the child for your rights as a father to apply. There are two ways to do so:
● Certificate of Parentage or
Voluntary Acknowledgement: When a child’s parents agree to the father’s
identity, they can execute an official New Jersey form indicating their
acknowledgement of paternity. The document must be notarized and then filed
with the New Jersey Department of Health.
● Paternity Action: If the parents do
not agree to paternity, either one of them may file a court case to determine
legal paternity. You do have the right as a father to initiate this type of
lawsuit, even though this litigation is typically associated with a mother
seeking paternity for child support purposes. After filing a petition, you
present evidence to support your claims, usually in the form of genetic
testing. The court will enter an order establishing paternity if you meet your
level of proof.
Your Fathers’ Rights in New Jersey
Once
you are legally the child’s father, you enjoy rights to custody,
decision-making, and visitation. A court determines these issues based upon the
child’s best interests standard, which starts from the legal presumption that
continued, frequent contact with both parents is in the child’s best interests.
From there, the judge considers the child’s health, emotional and developmental
needs, and other factors designated by law.
Note
that gender is not a consideration falling under the child’s best interests, so
you do have fathers’ rights in determinations on custody and visitation. Once
the court makes a decision on co-parenting, joint custody, or sole custody, the
judge will enter an appropriate order for child support.
New Jersey Fathers’ Rights Attorneys
are on Your Side
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