Visitation for unmarried fathers

Visitation, or parenting time, has always been one of the biggest issues between married and unmarried parents and is what seems to be an impossible problem for unmarried fathers living in Summit County, Ohio.  In this section, we will look at the various parts of the Ohio Revised Code that deal with parenting time for unmarried fathers and mothers, while including information and study of the following related issues:

• Rights of a legal father, in regards to visitation with  their child
• Ways in which unmarried fathers are permitted by current law to obtain parenting time rights to their child;
• Time schedules of the Standard Order of Visitation and how the courts of Summit County, Ohio use this standard order;
• Effects of visitation towards the calculation of child support orders;
• Supervised visitation ordered by the court.

Visitation rights of the legal father

An unmarried man who is the legal father, putative father,  or alleged father does not have visitation rights of any kind with his child.  As stated in the custody section of this site, an unmarried mother is the sole custodian and residential parent of a child at birth, pursuant to section 3109.042 of the Ohio Revised Code.  She has all of the rights, including the right to be with the child.  The only rights or duties that the legal father can exercise are:

• File a motion to the court
• Request parenting time rights;
• Pay child support for the child.

These right to complain can be further examined by reviewing section 3109.12(A) of the Ohio Revised Code, which reads:

"If a child is born to an unmarried woman, the parents of the woman and any relative of the woman may file a complaint requesting the court of common pleas of the county in which the child resides to grant them reasonable companionship or visitation rights with the child. If a child is born to an unmarried woman and if the father of the child has acknowledged the child and that acknowledgment has become final pursuant to section 2151.232 , 3111.25, or 3111.821 of the Revised Code or has been determined in an action under Chapter 3111. of the Revised Code to be the father of the child, the father may file a complaint requesting that the court of appropriate jurisdiction of the county in which the child resides grant him reasonable parenting time rights with the child and the parents of the father and any relative of the father may file a complaint requesting that the court grant them reasonable companionship or visitation rights with the child".

Secondly, the duty to pay support is evident in section 3111.31 of the Ohio Revised Code, which spells out the contents of the Acknowledgment of Patermity Affidavit.  Under the Signature Notarization section of  the affidavit, it reads:

(B) The court may order support payments to be made to the mother, the clerk of the court, or a person or agency designated to administer them for the benefit of the child under the supervision of the court.

(C) Willful failure to obey the judgment or order of the court is a civil contempt of the court."

How to obtain parenting time - unmarried father

The only way for an unmarried father to secure visitation with their child is to file a complaint to a court, having  competent jurisdiction in these matters for parenting time.  The complaint used to do that is called "Complaint to establish a parent and child relationship".  The reason this is necessary is that while you may be the legal father of the child, this legal designation does not mean that a parent and child relationship exists between you and the child, insofar as the letter of the law is concerned.

In Summit County, Ohio, at the time of this page's creation, the filing fee for this complaint is $300.00.  If you do not have, or can not afford this, there is a way to temporarily get around the filing fee.  Simply file a paper called "Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis".  This document, if approved by the judge or magistrate, will let you proceed in the case without paying filing fees or court costs while the case is ongoing.  A copy of this form, the complaint to establish a parent and child relationship and more can be found by using the link below  to the Domestic Relations Court website, on the forms page.  

Do remember, however, that once the hearings are over, the court will tax or assess the associated costs and filing fees of the case to one or both of the parties, including the initial filing fee.  These costs can not be waived by the court.

Standard Order of Visitation for unmarried fathers

The standard order of visitation is the time schedule a court will order in cases where the parties do not agree upon an alternate schedule for parenting time of the complaintant, unmarried  father.  In other words, if you request one schedule and the mother requests another, the two of you do not agree.  Since, in that case, the parents do not agree, the court orders standard time by default for you.

At this time, in Summit County, Ohio, this means up to 18 hours per week, spread over three days, which then means up to six hours per day.  Courts will generally argue that this schedule is sufficient because it allows contact between the parent and child that is consistent and often.  It seems, however, that the order does have a few serious flaws or drawbacks for the father, and they are:

• Contact is not at all substantial in nature;
• Standard order does not allow overnight time between the parent and child until the child reaches 18 months of age.

The full schedule, including days or times for regular time, holidays and all other information associated with the standard order, can be found by using this link to the Domestic Relations Court standard order page.

Visitation effects towards child support orders

The general and easy concepts to follow here are:

• Visitation does not equal child support;

• Child support does not equal visitation.

*Note:  In certain rare cases, the court may, at its descretion, adjust support, such as where the child spends equal time with both parents in true equal parenting case, and in addition where other conditions exist which warrant the variant amount of child support to be ordered.  These other conditions are pursuant to allowances made in Chapter 3119 of the Ohio Revised Code.  This basically means that it can be a contributing factor along with something else, but visitation by itself is not a reason to raise or lower a child support order.  The cases where it is in any way a contributing factor, should be considered exceptional instances and should not be thought of as an expected outcome for most people.

Court ordered supervision of visitation

If a parent has been shown to have a propensity for violence or has abused children, or any other reason which makes the court believe that supervision of a father during visitation is in the child's best interest, the court may, at its descretion,  order supervised visitation beteen the father and child.  Additionally, there is another circumstance under which the courts of Summit County, Ohio will order supervision for parenting time, which might surprise you.

I will use my case in the Summit County Domestic Relations Court as an example.  The mother and I went to the initial hearing of our case.  Her attorney asked that the court order "supervised visits" for me, as the mother was "concerned" that our daughter "would not receive sufficient care" while she was with me.  He further stated that the mother was willing to "volunteer" to be the supervisor under these orders.

I objected to this supervision and argued that my daughter was not at risk.  I also offered that I should be presumed to provide sufficient care for children, since I had been the sole legal custodian and residential parent of two of my boys for over four successful years.

The magistrate, Janice Gui, dropped a bomb shell.  She stated that while I might be a "super dad", my daughter's mother "is concerned".  Then, the magistrate told me that even though the Ohio Revised Code does not specifically address this type of issue, the Summit County Domestic Relations Court of Ohio has an "in house policy" which does.  This unwritten policy amongst the judges and magistrates basically allows the court to order supervision in an  attempt to relieve the "anxiety of a mother" when the separation from the baby comes into focus.

As you might imagine, without the production of "clear and convincing evidence", the magistrate ordered that the mother could supervise me with my daughter.  I was never proven to be a bad father, or even a bad person through out the case.  All it took was for the mother to "play the card" of concern, and the court played along, at my expense.  Unmarried fathers beware!