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Signing a Declaration of Paternity is voluntary. The parents can sign a declaration at the hospital when the child is born. If the parents sign at the hospital, both parents' names will go on the child's birth certificate, and the birth mother does not need to go to court to prove who the other parent of the child is.

Parents' custody rights vary from state to state. Historically, courts favored mothers when granting custody, but California focuses on the health, safety and welfare of the child. Judges base custody decisions on what is in the best interests of the child, and neither parent is preferred based on gender.

Both parents begin with equal rights to custody; a judge is not permitted to give a preference to either parent based upon the parent's sex. In determining a child's best interests, California law specifies two guiding policies: the health, safety, and welfare of children must be a court's primary concern, and.

A custodial parent has the right to change residences or move neighborhoods with a child as long as the move won't interfere with the child's rights or best interests. Under California law, a parent must provide written notice of any plan to move away with the child for more than 30 days.

California Father's Rights to Child Custody and Visitation Under California state law, both of the child's parents have the right to seek custody as well as visitation rights. In these cases, the child's mother and father are treated equally with equal rights.

Under California law, "joint legal custody" means that both parents share in the right and responsibility to make decisions relating to the health, education, and welfare of a child. Joint legal custody is very common in California. ... it would be in the child's best interests for one parent to have sole legal custody.

An unmarried father has no legal rights to custody or visitation of the child. Only a legal parent can ask the court for custody or visitation. A legal parent is also responsible for supporting a child.

Sometimes taking your child from you is a crime, like "parental kidnapping." But if you are married, and there is no court order of custody, it is legal for the other parent to take your child. Or, if you are divorced and the other parent has sole physical custody, it is legal for them to take your child.

The Mother's Rights Unmarried and married parents often face the same legal issues regarding their children, though the law makes it somewhat more complicated for children born to unmarried parents. As a rule, unmarried mothers are granted primary right to custody of their children.

Whether you are married or not, you don't have to give the baby the last name of either parent if you don't want to, and the child does not have to have the father's last name to be considered legitimate. (See the article Legitimacy of Children Born to Unmarried Parents for more on the subject.)

In California, paternity can be established up to 3 years after a child's 18th birthday. If a person is married when their child is born, and he/her has doubts about paternity, a court order for a blood test can be obtained within 2 years of the child's birth.

In some states, there is a time limit for signing these forms, but in others there is no time limit, and in many states, the father's signature on the forms acts as a substitute for a court order, officially establishing his parental relationship with the child.

In California, there are two ways to establish paternity: By signing a voluntary Declaration of Paternity or by getting a court order. Usually, the Declaration of Paternity is signed by both parents at the hospital shortly after the child's birth.

You can establish paternity in California quickly by signing a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity form. It has to be signed by both parents to be valid. This form concludes that each parent acknowledges they are the parents and that the man is the biological father. This can be signed at the hospital or later.

However, a married man does not have to take a paternity test in custody proceedings since the assumption of paternity exists. ... Once paternity has been established, whether the father agrees that the child is his or by DNA testing, the father has all of the rights and responsibilities of fatherhood.