Legal Question in Family Law in California
If my child was born out of wedlock, but myself and her mother married later only to get divorced; would custody issues during the divorce be any different? I.e. Are we both still going to be entitled equally to custody? Thanks.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Did you sign the birth certificate? If not, you may be required to prove paternity by a DNA test, but if you are the biological father, the fact that you were not married to the mother at the time the child was born would have little impact on the court's determination of custody. The court will decide what is in the best interests of the child, as far as custody goes, which doesn't always work out to a 50/50 schedule.
Ms. Beers is correct. Once paternity is legally established by any method, custody has nothing to do with marital status at any time in the child's life.
The fact that you were not married to her at the time does not have any impact on custody issues. It would only have impact on the manner in which paternity is proven.
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