Unmarried Parents

When a child's parents are unmarried, the statutes of most states require that the mother be awarded sole physical custody unless the father takes action to be awarded custody. An unwed father often cannot win custody over a mother who is a good parent, but he can take steps to secure some form of custody and visitation rights.

For unmarried parents involved in a custody dispute, options for the custody decision are largely the same as those for divorcing couples -- child custody and visitation will be resolved either through agreement between the child's parents, or by a family court judge's decision. But, unlike divorcing couples, unmarried parents will not need to resolve any potentially complicated (and contentious) divorce-related issues such as division of property and payment of spousal support, so the decision-making process is focused almost exclusively on child custody. For this reason, resolution of custody and visitation may be more simplified for unmarried parents. 

If unmarried parents do not reach a child custody and visitation agreement out-of-court, the matter will go before a family court judge for resolution.

Learn more: Custody Decisions in Family Court

Especially when making child custody decisions involving unmarried parents, the family court's primary consideration will be to identify the child's "primary caretaker." See Checklist: Who Gets Custody? for a list of factors that a court typically considers in determining "primary caretaker" of a child.