If there is no court order, both parents of a married couple have custody of the child. When there is no marriage between the parents, the mother is presumed to have custody until the court makes a ruling. It’s possible that the problem for married couples has nothing to do with physical custody. They are most likely sharing a home together.
Click here to watch the video Who Has Custody of A Child If There Is No Court Order in Michigan?
In Michigan, there is a circumstance when unmarried couples must decide who will have custody of their children. In accordance with current laws, the mother is presumed to have custody in the absence of a court order.
Truth Be Told About Being A Parent
Both biological and adoptive parents are considered to have legal parental power and authority over their adopted and biological children.
Our grandparents, uncles, aunts, and our usual family members, usually lack parental rights. They can be vested in legal guardianship or they can initiate the adoption of the child, thus providing them with parental rights.
Despite not being parents, legal guardians frequently have obligations and rights that are comparable to parental rights.
The ability to exercise parental rights is crucial to being considered a parent. A child’s upbringing and company are essential legal rights that belong to the parents. The phrase “parental rights” frequently refers to a parent’s capacity to decide on important matters like education and healthcare for their child’s upbringing.
When parents are living apart, such as during a separation or divorce, parental rights may also encompass matters like visitation and custody. Parental rights include the ability to make decisions and act in the best interests of the child.
Are there parental rights for step-parents? Obtaining custody of their stepchild is possible. The answer mostly depends on where you live and the particulars of your family’s situation. They most likely have parental rights if a step-parent lawfully adopted the child.
A person does not automatically acquire or share the parental rights of a child’s biological parent when they marry that person. Divorce may end a marriage, but it does not take away a couple’s legal right to raise a child. Physical and legal custody are still split equally between the parents.
Stepparents may have an impact on young children and assist the biological parent in fulfilling their duties, but marriage does not confer any inherent rights or obligations on them. The children of the biological parent are effectively “legal strangers” to step-parents.
A parent or guardian of a minor child may name a different individual as the temporary beneficiary of a power of attorney that transfers parental responsibility, as permitted under Michigan law.
What Is Child Custody?
The legal obligation to care for and govern your child until they turn 18 is known as custody. One or both of your parents may be granted custody of your child by the court. Custody comes in two types: legal and physical.
The authority to make important choices for your child is known as legal custody. The right to legal custody includes the ability to make decisions on your child’s education, health care, and religious upbringing, among other things.
Who your child physically lives with on a daily basis is referred to as physical custody. It involves looking after and supervising your child physically.
Parents can agree on a custody arrangement, and judges will often sign the court order approving it, as long as they find that it is in the child’s best interests. Below are descriptions of a few different custody arrangements.
Sole Custody
The legal definition of “sole custody” is ambiguous. The Michigan Custody Guideline states that when one parent is given both primary physical custody and primary legal custody, they are considered to have sole custody.
When a parent attends to their child the majority of the time, they have physical custody. When one parent is in charge of all major decisions regarding the child’s upbringing, this is known as legal custody (such as medical treatment, school enrollment, religious instruction, and participation in extracurricular activities).
Joint Custody
When one parent requests it, the court must consider awarding joint custody. Unless the court determines that joint custody is not in the child’s best interests, joint custody must be granted if the parents agree to it. Whether they grant or deny the request, judges are required to provide justifications in the official record.
Judges have the discretion to consider shared custody even without a parent’s request. Judges must consider whether the parents can cooperate and generally agree on important matters impacting the child’s well-being when deciding whether to grant joint custody. Joint legal custody, joint physical custody, or both are all permitted under the legal concept of “joint custody.”
Joint Legal Custody
When parents have joint legal custody, they can jointly decide on matters that significantly affect the child’s well-being. Joint custody is not impacted by how much time the child spends with each parent.
Joint Physical Custody
Joint physical custody simply means that the child will spend a certain amount of time with each parent; but, unless the court has also granted joint legal custody, it does not indicate that the parents will necessarily share parental decision-making authority. In a joint physical custody arrangement, for instance, one parent would be granted custody throughout the academic year, alternate weekends, and alternate holidays, while the other would be granted possession during the summer, alternate weekends, and alternate holidays.
If the judge approves joint physical custody, the court order will frequently state how long the child will spend living with each parent. The court order may specify that physical custody be divided between the parents such that the child has contact with both parents. When a child lives with one parent, all routine and urgent decisions regarding the child are made by that parent.
Child Custody for Unmarried Parents
In Michigan, unmarried moms are assumed to have primary custody of their children until the biological father can establish paternity and receive a court order granting him custody rights. Unmarried dads who want to voluntarily prove paternity with the mother’s approval can do so by signing an Affidavit of Parentage, either at the hospital where the child is born or later.
If paternity is contested, a father can legally establish parentage, which typically involves genetic testing to show that a biological tie exists.
It’s true that historically mothers were more frequently given custody, but times are changing, and now legally recognized dads can file actions to obtain sole or shared custody of their children as well as actions to obtain visitation (formally referred to as “parenting time”).
Fathers who are not married are now more successful than ever in obtaining joint or sole physical custody of their children, or at the very least, court orders allowing them to spend quality time with their children.
If both parents are unable to agree on a child custody plan, the court will make the decision. The visitation, legal custody, and physical custody will all be decided by the court. To put it simply, this entails deciding which parent the child will live with and when they will spend time with a parent who does not have physical custody.
The court may provide joint custody to both parents or exclusive custody to one parent.
Every father needs to be proactive and have a plan in place to pursue his parental rights before the child is even born. By getting legal counsel, being informed of his rights, and having a plan in place, an unmarried parent can overcome his legal challenges and concentrate on enjoying fatherhood.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel today for more advice on Family Law!
Goldman & Associates Law Firm is here to with information about Child Custody and Divorce in the State of Michigan.