Do I have legal decision making rights?
- Thread Starter Dylan3201
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- polk county wisconsin
adjusterjack
Super Moderator
Why don't you tell her? Joint custody implies that you do get time with the child.
Is there a court order in place? Is she violating it in some way?
Check out the fathers' rights websites for information and possible help.
wisconsin father's rights at DuckDuckGo
army judge
Super Moderator
If you and the female were not married upon the child's birth, you have no parental rights.
If you now wish to establish your parental rights in WI, here's what you're required to do.
Legal Fatherhood Protects your Baby's Rights
If you establish legal fatherhood, your child:
Will know who his or her father is
Will be able to receive financial support from both parents until he or she becomes an adult
Will have rights to his or her father's social security, veterans' benefits, pension, and inheritance if something should happen
Will have the rights to tribal enrollment if Native American
Will have access to the father's family health history
This is important because conditions such as diabetes, cancer, heart problems, and sickle cell run in families
May be enrolled in his or her father's health insurance plan.
Legal Fatherhood Protects the Father's Rights
Legal fatherhood gives the father the right to:
Have his name on the child's birth certificate
Have his parental rights considered before his baby can be placed for adoption
Ask the court for legal custody and placement of his child
Voluntarily and Involuntarily Establishing Paternity in Wisconsin
In the legal sense, the word "paternity" means the establishment of a legal relationship between a male and a child. Paternity allows the child's father to petition the court for custody and visitation rights with the child while also imposing a legal obligation on the father to support the child financially. When parents have a child during a marriage, or when the child is conceived during a couple's marriage, the law automatically assumes that the child's mother's husband is the child's legal and biological father. In this case, the parents do not need to take any additional steps to establish paternity.
However, when a couple is not married and has a child, they need to take additional steps to legally establish paternity and for the court to be able to enforce the father's parental rights and obligations. In the state of Wisconsin, paternity can be established either voluntarily by filing a statement with the state registrar or involuntarily using a court petition. Using the voluntary process is measurably simpler than the alternative of going to court, but the situation surrounding the pregnancy, birth, and the relationship between the parents determines which method is used.
Parents can acknowledge paternity voluntarily by signing a statement which affirms that the male is the child's legal and biological father. Once this statement has been signed, it needs to be filed with the Wisconsin State Registrar, and once the statement has been process, either parent then has the legal right to petition the court to make decisions regarding child custody, visitation, and child support. Unlike some other states, both parents also have the right to rescind their paternity statement within 60 days if they can prove signing the statement was fraud or they were under duress.
If the couple is not in agreement as to who the child's biological father is, then either the mother or the possible father can file a petition with the court to establish paternity. This is done at the circuit court for the county in which the child lives. Once the petition has been filed, the filing party needs to serve the other party with a copy of the petition. After this petition has been served, the court sets a hearing date in order for paternity to be established. Either parent has the right to request a genetic or DNA test – if this is requested, the court orders the possible father and the child to undergo genetic testing to determine if the male in question is the child's biological father.
Any of the following individuals has the right to petition the court to establish paternity:
The child's biological mother
Any male claiming to be the child's father
The child him or herself
Any individual with physical or legal custody of the child
An agent working for the state of Wisconsin
An individual appointed to be the child's representative
The child's grandparent if either parent is a dependent.
Once a petition to establish paternity has been filed, the court has a pretrial hearing. During this hearing, either party can present the court with witnesses or produce evidence that proves or disproves paternity, which includes genetic testing. The court can then make a recommendation for the case to be dismissed or recommend that the possible father acknowledge the child's paternity. If the possible father does acknowledge paternity after the hearing, the court also recommends a visitation schedule and a child support amount. If the parents are still not in agreement when it comes to paternity, the issue goes to trial, at which time a judge decides on the issues.
Father's Rights to Child Custody and Visitation
When judges make child custody and child visitation determinations in the state of Wisconsin, they are guided by the "best interests of the child standard," which outlines that decisions regarding these issues should best support the child's growth, wellbeing, and development regardless of either parent's wishes. Courts believe that having both parents equally involved in children's lives is generally within their best interest unless one parent has issues that are a negative influence on children or their development. Whenever possible, judges opt for a joint custody agreement.
However, in those cases where joint custody is not an option, the judge seeks to name one parent as the primary custodial parent. This parent has the child in his or her care most of the time, and the other parent, known as the non-custodial parent, is granted visitation. When choosing a primary custodian, the mother and father are evaluated equally and are not discriminated based on gender. If the father is named the child's primary custodian, he also has the right to seek child support from the mother.
Father's Rights in Wisconsin - Establishing Paternity as the Father
Until you ESTABLISHED your paternity via the court and DNA testing you'll only have responsibilities for the child, such as paying child support.
You'll have zero rights to visit with the child, unless you legally establish paternity.
If you and the female were married upon the child's birth, you already possess rights equal to the mother.
However, you also need to request equal (as in shared custody) and mandated visitation through the courts.
Father's Rights in Wisconsin - Establishing Paternity as the Father
Zigner
Well-Known Member
@army judge - given the wording of the OP, I think it's a safe bet that the OP already has a court order.
army judge
Super Moderator
Life isn't as complicated as some people portray it to be.
Staying out of trouble is as easy as eating a slice of your favorite pie.
However, if one were to quickly peruse the various posts, one might readily conclude that life isn't easy. Its an entangled web of confusion and missteps.
zddoodah
Well-Known Member
Almost six years since what?
I don't really understand the point of this: "she wont [sic] tell my daughter im [sic] the father." If your child is at least six years old and you have joint custody, why do you need the mother to tell your daughter that you're her father? You've told her, right?
Like everyone else, you have many dozens of legal rights. It would serve no useful purpose to list them all.
Contempt of what? Contempt is the willful violation of a court order? What court order do you believe your child's mother has violated, and what are the relevant facts?
Do you have joint custody as in there's a court order giving you both joint custody? Joint physical, legal or both?
If you have been granted joint custody by a court order, and the other parent is violating that court order, then yes she would be in contempt. If you don't have a court order granting you any custody or visitation, then no she's not in contempt. But if you have paternity established, you have the right to file for custody, visitation etc.
