When it comes to the happiness and well-being of a child, most parents would agree that it is one of, if not their top, priority. This is true for parents who are cohabitating, as well as parents who are living apart. For some Tennessee fathers, protecting their paternity rights is vitally important so that they can foster a relationship with their children. This relationship can be better established when two unwed parents develop a parenting agreement.
A parenting agreement is a document that lays out details of a child custody and visitation arrangement. Each parenting agreement is different, but they often contains details related to pick-up and drop-off times, a list of holidays that the children will spend with each parent and even penalties for a parent’s inability to adhere to the agreed-upon arrangement. These details are negotiated between the two parents.
Those seeking fathers’ rights to their children probably have an end goal in mind of negotiating such a parenting agreement. The first step before approaching the parenting agreement is to establish paternity. These things cannot be done out of order. The approval of paternity allows the father access to begin the process of parenting agreement negotiation.
After the establishment of a parenting agreement, unmarried parents can move forward with implementing the new custody and visitation schedule. In some cases, this can be a new beginning for a Tennessee father and their child. From here the relationship can continue to grow in a positive way. Negotiating a parenting agreement can really help to set healthy expectations and boundaries when unwed parties co-parent a child.
Source: FindLaw, “Child Visitation, Child Custody and Unmarried Fathers,” Accessed March 13, 2016