In Colorado, the laws regarding child custody are “gender blind,” meaning that the gender of a given parent should not be a determining factor in deciding on matters related to child custody and visitation. In other words, family courts are moving away from blindly favoring mothers in custody and visitation rulings and are, instead, focusing on making these decisions based on the best interests of the child.
Despite these good intentions, however, fathers may still face an uphill battle when it comes to getting custody or visitation of their children, particularly if or when:
- There may be questions or issues regarding the paternity of a child.
- Fathers may be unsure of their rights and, consequently, don’t know how to properly assert them in court.
- A child custody and/or divorce case is particularly contentious because, for instance, there may be allegations of domestic violence.
In these or any case, fathers can turn to the Denver child custody attorney at Goldman Law, LLC to help them defend their rights and obtain the best possible outcomes to custody and visitation matters.
From obtaining a favorable custody agreement during divorce proceedings to helping fathers modify existing child custody and visitation agreements, our Denver family lawyer can provide fathers with superior representation and legal support so they can rest assured that their rights will be asserted and their interests will be protected.
What Are Fathers’ Rights?
Although there is not one official document that specifically outlines all of a father’s rights when it comes to child custody and visitation matters, various laws do provide certain rights for fathers in these cases. Among the rights that fathers have include (but are not necessarily limited to):
- The right to paternity testing – Although it is always clear who the mother of a child is, this is not the case with fathers, and men who have questions about paternity or who want to definitely establish paternity in the eyes of the law will have the right to pursue paternity testing.
- The right to ask for partial or full custody – Fathers have the right to seek whatever type of custody or visitation rights they desire. While it may be possible to work out favorable custody agreements with children’s mothers outside of court, if this is not possible, a family court will ultimately rule on this matter.
- The right to request support payments – When fathers are granted primary custody of children, they can request child support payments from mothers in order to help them cover the costs of caring for and raising the children.
- The right to request modifications to child custody or visitation agreements – Once custody or visitation arrangements have been ruled on by courts, fathers have the right to request modifications or changes to these agreements in the future (particularly when certain circumstances may have changed).
It’s important to note that unwed fathers (i.e., fathers who were never married to the child’s mother) may have different rights and that, regardless of a father’s marital status, working with an experienced attorney in custody and visitation cases will be critical to fully protecting and advocating fathers’ rights.
Denver Child Custody Lawyer at Goldman Law, LLC
If you are a father who needs help asserting your rights to custody or visitation of your child, the trusted Denver child custody attorney at Goldman Law, LLC is ready to help you advocate your rights.
To learn more about how we can help you, contact us by calling (303) 656-9529 or by emailing us using the contact form on this page. From our offices in Denver, we serve clients throughout Colorado.
