Your Rights as a Mother in California

Mothers, whether never married or after divorce, have important legal rights regarding their children. Here is everything you need to know about your rights as a mother in California.

Rights to Consider as a Mother

It is important to understand the specific issues and rights that mothers have to think about when considering their child. In order to protect your rights, consider the following issues you are facing, including:

Interference with custody and visitation
Child support
Modifications to support and custody orders
Spousal support
Paternity disputes
Violation of orders
Relocation
Domestic violence and spousal or child abuse

The Impact of Establishing Parentage on Mother’s Rights

Parentage refers to the legal recognition of a person as a child’s biological parent. When a couple has a child while married, the law presumes that the husband is the biological father. However, when children are born out of wedlock, no such presumption exists. In such a case, parentage is only established if a father voluntarily signs a declaration stating he is a biological parent, or if the court makes that determination as part of a parentage case.

Once parentage is established under California law, parents assume the full rights and responsibilities involving their children. This means that a father has the right to seek custody or visitation, but also means that he is responsible for financially supporting the child. Establishing parentage can have an impact on a mother’s rights, specifically on child custody and child support.

Mother’s Rights to Child Custody

Child custody refers to the rights of legal parents or guardians to have custody over the child. There are two types of custody: physical and legal custody. The goal of granting custody is to determine the environment that is in the child’s best interest.

Without establishing parentage, fathers have no legal right over the child, including the right to child custody. This means that if parentage is not established, the mother automatically has sole physical and legal custody of the child. Even with parentage established, unwed mothers have no need to take legal action to fight for child custody. This is because, if unwed to the father, mothers almost always automatically gain custody of the child; the caveat to this is that if parentage is established, the father has the right to make legal arrangements with the mother regarding custody.

Mother’s Rights to Child Support

In order to have the right to receive child support, parentage must be established. If the parentage of the father is not established, mothers have no legal right to receive child support. However, if parentage is established and a mother has physical custody of the child, she has a right to child support.

Mother’s Rights in Preventing a Father From Seeing His Child

Once again, if the father has not established parentage, the mother has complete physical and legal rights over her child and can prevent visitation with the child’s father. However, if parentage is established, the mother would have to prove to the court that the father is unfit as a parent. If there is evidence of family violence caused by the father, a mother may seek to prevent the father from seeing the child through a child protection order.

Learn More About Your Rights as a Mother

Family law is complicated, so it is in your best interest to consult an attorney. Contact Her Lawyer; we can connect you with an experienced family law attorney to answer any questions you may have about your rights as a mother.