These days, family dynamics are more complicated than ever. Spouses in same-sex marriages may raise a child parented by someone outside the marriage. More people are warming to the idea of polyamory, where more than two people have a relationship, and they have a child with someone other than their spouse. There are, of course, also situations of betrayal where someone has a child from an affair, ...
Being a biological father doesn’t necessarily mean you are a legal father. The government requires you to officially declare our parenthood. You can do this by signing the birth certificate or filing paperwork later. The legal term for fatherhood is “paternity.” If you wait too long, or if you discover a child later in life, you must officially declare your fatherhood. You may need to go through ...
In the state of Iowa, when a married couple has a child, the husband is automatically presumed to be the father. His name will go on the birth certificate and no further action is needed from the couple. Unfortunately, there are no automatic protections in place for the fathers of a children born out of wedlock. Unwed partners need to take additional steps to ensure the father has legal rights to ...
In the 21st Century, it is not unusual for unmarried parents to have children. Perhaps these parents are divorced or have no intention of marrying because they are children of divorce. The reasons for having children out of wedlock vary and are very personal, but regardless of the reasons for having children outside of the institution of marriage, it’s frequency has raised issues in the family ...