Florida Putative Father Registry

Under the law, a person is regarded (presumed) to be the father of a child if certain facts are present. Presumed father laws help to establish paternity.A person with paternity, as the father, may also be entitled to child visitation rights or child custody rights.

2 Putative father is defined in statute in 11 States. 3 Although there is some variation in language, putative father generally means a man who is alleged to be or claims to be the biological father of a child who is born to a woman to whom he is not married at the time of the child's birth.

Children have the right to a relationship with both of their parents. However, if unmarried couples decide to separate, the father may have different rights to those of the child's mother and a married father.

It is a common misconception that family law courts prefer mothers in custody battles. People will tell you that mothers always win primary custody. (Unless you are talking to a divorce lawyer.)Family law courts base their decisions on the best interests of the child.

Section 63.054, Florida Statutes, provides for the establishment of a Putative Father Registry in the Bureau of Vital Statistics. The purpose of the registry is to permit a man alleging to be the unmarried biological father of a child to preserve his right to notice and consent in the event of an adoption.

While at least 24 states currently have what are called putative father registries, California does not.

The Mother's Rights As a rule in most states, if the parents are not married, the mother is automatically given primary custody rights over the children. This means she has complete authority to make any major and minor decisions regarding her child's welfare.

Acknowledgment of paternity or registration with a putative father registry ensures certain rights for an unmarried father, such as the right to receive notice of court proceedings regarding the child, petitions for adoption, and actions to terminate parental rights.

Although many people assume that moms have more child custody rights than dads, the truth is, U.S. custody laws don't give mothers an edge in custody proceedings.However, the fact is that no custody laws in the U.S. give mothers a preference or additional rights to custody of their children.