Any reason a father of a one night stand can't go for shared custody?

Halafax · 2017-05-29T16:54:35+00:00

Why can't they apply for shared custody and avoid paying child support?

They can certainly apply for shared custody. Doing so will not significantly reduced child support obligations, however.

The child is 50% his. He should have the right to 50% custody shouldn't he?

The court doesn't see it that way. It hinges it's definition of "in the best interest of the child" on "the primary caregiver". It uses this as a defacto enforcement of "the tender years doctrine" which heavily favored mothers over fathers.

In your example, the father has little chance of being "the primary caregiver", because of the logistics involved. The likely outcomes vary by state, but I suspect the court would greatly favor a reduced role for the father. In my state, "alternate weekends and Wednesday night" is preferred for the "non primary caregiver". You'll find that whatever the court is willing to offer a father tends to be just shy of a noticable change in support obligations.

2017-05-29T16:11:55+00:00

They can.

alclarkey · 2017-05-29T17:28:25+00:00

You can, but as a never-married father, you have little to no parental rights unless you are named by the mother on the birth certificate.

In different states, other rules may apply as well.

Title	Any reason a father of a one night stand can't go for shared custody?
Author	dukunt
Upvotes	19
Comments	16
Date	May 29, 2017 4:09 PM UTC (9 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/6e13w7/any_reason_a_father_of_a_one_night_stand_cant_go/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/any-reason-a-father-of-a-one-night-stand-cant-go.921669 https://theredarchive.com/post/921669

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