MORE PARENTS OPT TO SKIP MARRIAGE (Part One: Children)

n our never-ending societal and economic evolution, it has become apparent that more and more people in our country are opting to not get married. While this fact is not necessarily a new culture shift in recent American history, it does have important ramifications when it comes to children and property.

According to a recent Arizona Republic article, 45% of the babies born in 2012 in Arizona were born to unmarried mothers. When this is compared with 18.7% in 1980, it is clear that the number of children born to unwed mothers is on the rise. (This data does not take into account children born to same-sex couples, who are not permitted to marry in Arizona. Nor does it account for couples that are in long-term relationships without a marriage certificate. In other words, do not equate “unmarried” to necessarily mean “single.”)

When a child is born out-of-wedlock, however, there are certain factors that both the parents should carefully consider. First, the child biological father should be clearly established. While it is a start to place the father’s name on the child’s birth certificate and/or do an Acknowledgment of Paternity at the hospital, this is not usually enough through the eyes of the law. Typically, parents should also make sure that the father’s paternity is also established by a legal court order. Even if the parties are together and there is no conflict between them, this would be still a good idea to get this legal hurdle completed to leave no questions as to the child’s father in the case of emergency, the incapacitation or untimely death of the mother, international travel, governmental benefits and possibly inheritance considerations.

Obviously, when the parents are not together and/or there is conflict happening or possibly about to happen, establishing a legal paternity order is even more important. In addition to the reasons stated above, to establish legal paternity gives both parents the legal right to be involved with the child, have set access and support obligations clearly set out and prevents either parent from just unilaterally leaving the State (or moving over a hundred miles away in State) with the child.

In conclusion, if your child is born and the parents are part of the growing national trend to not be married at the time, it is extremely important to establish both parents’ rights to the child in a legal order. In most cases this would involve simply filing a Stipulation (legalese for “agreement”) of Paternity and the court would simply enter an order stating who the parents are and fixing the child’s birth certificate (if it needed to be corrected). If working together, with both parents being involved in the child’s emotional and financial life, there would be no further reason at that juncture to need the court to enter any other orders to deal with the child. However, in the event of a mishap or dissolving of the parent’s relationship were to happen at some point in the future, then the parents’ rights to the child and the child’s rights to his or her parents has already been clearly established.