All parents, whether married or not, have child custody and visitation rights. However, unmarried parents have to go through different hoops to enforce these rights. The process is also different for unmarried mothers and fathers. Below are some things you should know about custody and visitation rights as an unmarried father.

A Mother Often Gets Parental Rights

In many cases, the mother often gets parental rights right after the baby is born. These parental rights usually include custody rights. This is especially true if the father is unknown or doesn’t want to be involved with the baby’s upbringing. In that case, the mother usually makes the decisions about the child’s living situation, choice of daycare, religious upbringing, and vacation times.

When you have a child, he or she becomes your top priority, even if you are in the process of ending a relationship. You want the best for your child even if you are not able to remain in a relationship with the other parent. Whether you are facing divorce or the breakup of a short relationship, you may be looking for options for resolving child custody issues.

Mediation provides you and the child’s other parent the opportunity to sit down and discuss the issues at hand. With the help of a mediator, you have an unbiased individual helping you address your respective problems. For many reasons, mediation is a fantastic option to consider.

Mediation Identifies Key Issues

When unmarried couples have a child, the law doesn’t automatically assume the child’s parentage. You have to establish paternity to ensure a legal relationship between the parent and the child. Establishing paternity bestows numerous benefits to both the parents and the child. Below are some of the areas these benefits cover.

Identity and Relationship

If you are the father, establishing paternity allows you to confirm your relationship with your child. The confirmation will help establish your child’s identity. Many children wish to know their legal parents, even if they already have other adults in their lives (such as stepparents).

Divorces are generally grouped into two main categories: simple and complex. But while some divorces are firmly in one camp or the other from the get-go, other cases start out simple but become complex during the process. What causes this to happen? Here are five common reasons yours may evolve over time. 

1. A Contentious Spouse

Your divorce may appear relatively cut-and-dried on paper, but your spouse can make things much more complicated in person. They may change their mind about things you thought were settled, for instance, bring up new issues, or argue minute details within the agreement. A spouse who digs in their heels may not be deterred by the time, energy, or monetary investment in a long, drawn-out trial.

Welcoming a new member into your family requires a lot of preparation. If you are a New Mexico resident thinking about adoption, an attorney could help you a great deal during this process. Below is what you should expect once you decide to adopt a child in New Mexico. 

Licensing

The State of New Mexico, under the Children, Youth and Families Department (hereafter referred to as the department), will conduct a home study to determine if your home or family can accommodate a new member. Typically, they identify your strengths as a prospective adoptive family. They also evaluate your ability and willingness to create a safe and conducive environment for the child.

The emotional stress caused by divorce prompts many to turn to friends and family for support. However, in today’s digital age, social media is a popular way for people to reach out to their support group. Unfortunately, social media can be harmful, and in many cases, the cause of divorce itself. Once you post something, there’s no going back.

While social media is a useful tool to connect to others, if you’re currently going through a divorce, it’s best you refrain from posting your woes on social media. Here’s an overview of what not to do, and why.

Anything You Say Can, and May, Be Used Against You

A strong parent-child relationship is necessary for the emotional, social, and physical development of a child. Unfortunately, this relationship often breaks down during a divorce. Below are some measures to help you maintain your relationship with your child during a divorce.

Minimize Conflict

Conflicts between parents affect the parent-child relationship. For example, the child might view one parent as the antagonist and the other as the victim. In that case, the child’s relationship with the perceived antagonist might suffer.

Minimize conflict during your divorce to avoid such effects. Here are some helpful tips:

The root cause of divorce for couples varies widely. From infidelity to financial distress, there are many reasons why couples choose to end their marriages. Another common problem for married couples is personality disorders.

Those with personality disorders, specifically Narcissistic Personality Disorder, can have a difficult time maintaining a marital relationship, though this is not the case for everyone. Some people with NPD can seek help with their personality disorders and have a happy marriage. Sadly, others cannot.

Read on to see some information on NPD and how it can impact your divorce if your spouse deals with this personality disorder.

Before the court can grant a divorce request, couples are required to divide their assets and debts. Because of this, if you’re going through a divorce, you must understand how property is divided. Here are some factors that affect the division of property during divorce.

Applicable Laws

The first thing you need to consider when dividing property during a divorce is the applicable laws. If you reside in a community property state, the court will presume that any assets acquired during the marriage should be shared equally between the spouses. This means marital property is split evenly. However, in such cases, you can request the court to award separate property to you if it was property that you acquired before the marriage and you kept it separate during the marriage.

If you reside in an equitable distribution state, the court will divide property fairly between the spouses. This doesn’t necessarily mean a 50/50 split. The court categorizes property as either marital or separate before awarding portions to either spouse. You need to prove ownership of a separate property with receipts or any other admissible evidence.

Property division is a critical and often divisive process during a divorce. Some properties, such as marital homes, businesses, and retirement accounts, require special treatment during a divorce. Below are some things you should know if you are divorcing and have retirement benefits in New Mexico.

Community Property Laws Apply

The first thing to note is that New Mexico follows community property laws. In a community property state, assets you acquire before the marriage are separate property. Assets you acquire during your marriage are community property. If you divorce, you divide the community properties, and each person keeps their separate property.
Retirement benefits are subject to property division laws. Thus, you will divide the benefits you accrued during the marriage and keep the ones you accrued before the marriage.