A father's rights upon his child's birth often depend on his marital status.
In Indiana, the parental rights of men upon the birth of their children often depend on the marital status of the parents. An unmarried man must take action after the child's birth to establish paternity and gain a right to request custody, visitation and child support from the Indiana courts. All fathers with legal paternity, whether married or unmarried, have rights under Indiana's adoption notice and consent laws.
Significance of Child's Birth Date
The parents' marital status on the child's birth date often affects the legal rights of the father. When the parents are married as of the child's birth date or were married within 300 days of the child's birth date, the state of Indiana identifies the husband as the child's presumed father. A presumed father has an immediate right to request custody, visitation or child support in state court. For an unmarried father, the child's birth date can affect the required procedures to establish paternity according to Indiana law.
Establishment of Paternity
A man can establish parental rights to his child, even if he did not automatically gain parental rights as a presumed father at the time of the child's birth. While at the hospital after the child's birth, the mother and father can sign a paternity affidavit to identify him as the child's legal father, as long as they submit their affidavit through the hospital within 72 hours of the birth. At any other point before the child reaches the age of emancipation, Indiana state law allows the parents to submit a paternity affidavit to their local health department. A man may also file a paternity lawsuit to get a court order for paternity.
General Rights of Fathers
In Indiana, married parents share the right to request custody and visitation orders from the courts. For unmarried parents, however, the mother retains legal custody rights from birth unless the father obtains a court order that sets forth his legal relationship to the child. Before he can start a court case for custody or visitation, an unmarried father must establish legal fatherhood of the child through one of the methods permitted under Indiana's paternity laws. A father who has established paternity may also request a court order for child support or may need to pay child support to the other parent.
Putative Fathers Registry
If a man has concerns about protecting his parental rights before the child's birth, he may wish to register with the Indiana Putative Fathers Registry. He must submit a completed registration form to the Indiana State Department of Health at any time before the child's birth up to 30 days after the birth. If the child's mother later signs a consent form for adoption, he may still register even if more than 30 days have passed since the birth, as long as he does so by the date on which a court receives the adoption petition.
Rights in Child's Adoption
A presumed father or a father who has otherwise gained legal rights through a paternity affidavit or paternity case must receive notice of the mother's intent to sign a consent for adoption. Indiana's adoption laws do not require that the mother provide the name or contact information of a man who has not legally established parental rights. However, a man who has registered with the Indiana Putative Fathers Registry has a legal right to receive notice of a pending adoption that involves the child described in his registration. Fathers with established legal rights can decide whether to give consent to the adoption.
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