Legal Question in Family Law in Indiana

Re: Parental Rights - Child Custody

A man who believes he is the father of a child (born or unborn) has the right to file a petition to determine paternity, to request the child carry his name and to request custody and/or visitation rights. If the mother and father are still on speaking terms at the time of the birth of the child and he accompanies her to the hospital, they will be offered the option of executing an affidavit of paternity which would determine whether the child will carry the mother or the father's name. If this does not happen, then his remedy is to file a paternity suit in the county where they reside. The Court follows the standard of what is in the child's best interests in terms of what name the child carries and in terms of custody and visitation. Basically, parents must be able to communicate with each other in order to have joint custody. However, the courts will follow the parenting time guidelines with respect to visitation and the non-custodial parent is entitled to nearly as much information and input that way as he is with joint custody.