Many unmarried men believe that by signing their child’s birth certificate they are automatically entitled to certain rights over their children. In Georgia, this couldn’t be furthest from the truth. The reality is, if you aren’t married to your child’s mother you don’t have an automatic right to see your child. You also don’t have the right to call the child or know any details about your child’s education and medical records.
Father’s have to grasp at the opportunity to establish rights to their child by a process called legitimation. If you don’t use the opportunity you will lose the right to have access to your child. The law states that if you have not taken necessary steps to establish a meaningful bond with your child and you don’t seek out your rights before the child becomes older, then you may lose the ability to ever gain access and rights to your child. If the mother of your child is refusing to let you know where your child goes to school, telling you that you cant see the child until you give her money, or using the child as a pawn to get you to submit to her will, then you need to take action!
Father’s need to seek the advise of an attorney to help them with the process of legitimation. There are so many factors to consider when seeking legitimation, i.e. custody, visitation, child support, health insurance, daycare, extra-curricular activities and the list goes on and on. You need to consider hiring an experienced attorney. Don’t be misled into believing that you wont have a fair shot; your rights are equally important. Click here to set up a consultation.
LAWYER’S TIP: Father’s, just because you are under an order to pay child support doesn’t mean you automatically have rights–legitimation is the key.
