Legal Question in Family Law in Oregon

Rights of never married single fathers.....

YOUR QUESTION: Are there any rights that a father has if he was never married to the mother since there is no divorce decree outlining custody, visitation, who gets to claim the child as a dependent for tax purposes, etc.?

ANSWER: Yes. Given that a child support order presently exists, I assume that legal paternity has been previously established. (Generally, In cases involving a child born out of wedlock, there can be no child support order unless/until legal paternity has been established.)

Oregon law, ORS 109.103, provides as follows:

�If a child is born out of wedlock and paternity has been established, either parent may initiate a civil proceeding to determine the custody or support of the child. The proceeding shall be brought in the circuit court of the county in which the child resides or is found or in the circuit court of the county in which either parent resides. The parents shall have the same rights and responsibilities regarding the custody and support of their child that married or divorced parents would have, and the provisions of ORS 107.095 to 107.425 that relate to the custody or support of children shall be applicable to the proceeding.�

(Although not expressly stated, the reference in ORS 109.103 to �custody� includes visitation as well. BTW, Oregon statutes nowadays refer to visitation as �parenting time.�)

So what you need to do is to file a Petition to Establish Parenting Time, based on ORS 109.103.

For more information ---- and forms for filing with the court ---- go to the following website:

http://www.ojd.state.or.us/osca/cpsd/courtimprovement/familylaw/flpacket3.htm

As to claiming the child as a dependent for income tax purposes, go to the following website:

http://www.peak.org/~jedwards/tax.htm

LAWRENCE D. GORIN

http://www.divorcesource.com/OR/pages/ldgorin.html

Law Offices of L.D. Gorin

621 S.W. Morrison St., Suite 350

Portland, Oregon 97205

Phone: 503-224-8884 (afternoons, Pacific time)

Fax: 503-274-0818

E-mail: [email protected]