Legal Father vs. Biological Father vs. Presumed Father

If you're a father, you must be recognized as such by law to have custodial rights.

You will need to establish your child's paternity if you were not married to their mother at the time of conception or birth. Your parental rights will vary depending on where you live and your fatherhood status.

Legal father

A child's legal father is established by law.

If the child is born during a marriage or within a certain period (usually 300 days) after the marriage ends, the husband is the legal father by default.

If parents are unmarried, there are a few ways to establish legal fatherhood.

• Signing the child's birth certificate (in some jurisdictions)
• Signing a paternity acknowledgment form with the child's mother
• Getting a court order naming you the child's legal father
• Adopting the child

When a judge decides legal fatherhood, they will consider DNA test results, whether you've acted in a parental role (e.g., providing financially for the child) and if naming you the legal father is in the child's best interests. A man is the child's legal father versus biological father (more below) if the court finds it's best to preserve the parent-child relationship despite DNA test results.

Your rights as a legal father depend on your marital status. If you're married to the child's mother, you have joint physical custody and joint legal custody. If you're not married, you have the right to petition for custody and can be ordered to pay child support. Legal fatherhood also allows your child to collect an inheritance from you.

Biological father

A biological father is someone who fathered a child.

Married men are the presumed biological fathers of children born during their marriage or a certain period after the marriage ends, even without DNA testing.

When there are doubts regarding paternity, the mother or father can request a paternity test. A positive test is often enough to establish the man as both the biological and legal father. However, some jurisdictions have a stricter distinction for legal father versus biological father; the court must agree to legitimize the biological father as the legal father.

When comparing legal father versus biological father rights, you'll find similarities based on marital status. Unmarried biological fathers' rights usually allow them to petition for custody. Married biological fathers have joint custodial rights with the child's mother.

The issue of presumed father versus biological father may arise if a mother has a child with someone else while married. Her husband would automatically have parental rights, not the biological father. The latter would need to prove in court that naming him the legal father would be in the child's best interest.

Presumed father

The definition of a presumed father is someone who is assumed by law to be the father of a child.

A husband is presumed to be the father of any children born during his marriage or within a certain time frame afterward. In some jurisdictions, an unmarried father signing a paternity acknowledgment form with the child's mother or signing the child's birth certificate creates a presumption.

When the court weighs the legal fatherhood status of a presumed father versus biological father, the presumed father is still considered the legal father even if the DNA test result is negative. A court would need to rule that overturning the presumption is in the child's best interests.

Married presumed fathers have joint custodial rights with the child's mother. Unmarried presumed fathers must petition the court for custodial rights.

Alleged father

Being an alleged father means there's a claim you fathered a child but no definitive proof.

If you admit you're the father, you and the child's mother can sign a paternity acknowledgment form.

If you deny you're the father, you or the child's mother can ask the court for paternity testing. Whether you are the child's legal father versus biological father will depend on the results of the testing and whether the court finds naming you the legal father (even if the test is negative) is in the child's best interest.

Alleged fathers don't have any custodial rights until they establish paternity and get a custody order.

Custodial father

A custodial father is his child's primary caretaker.

Getting full custody as a father can be difficult. Reaching an agreement with the child's mother is the easiest route to becoming a custodial father.

If you can't agree, you must go to court. You'll need to prove that you are capable of being the child's primary provider and naming you as such would be in the child's best interests.

When comparing custodial fathers versus biological fathers, consider that you can become a custodial father so long as you are the child's legal father — even if you're not the biological father.

A custodial father usually has sole physical custody, while the child's mother has visitation. A custodial father may have primary physical custody instead. Typically, both parents have a say in child-related decisions (joint legal custody).

Preparing for court as a father

Fathers who are unmarried or going through a divorce may need to go to court to protect or obtain their custodial rights.

When you're a father fighting for custody of your child, preparation is key. Custody X Change can help.

To set up the perfect custody and visitation schedule, click on the "calendar" tab. You can also enter the schedule you currently follow.

Above the calendar, you'll see parenting time percentages. The printable report could prove you have been your child's primary caregiver, boosting your case.

Clicking on the "plan" tab allows you to design a parenting plan you can give the court to show you're prepared for a future with your child.

Use Custody X Change to show the court why you deserve full custody of your child. It can save you thousands in lawyer fees.