Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Paternity

Does being on a birth certificate give a father any parenting rights in Florida? According to Florida Statutes, the mother of a child born outside of wedlock is considered the natural guardian of the child and is entitled to full care, custody and control of the child until a court order is entered stating otherwise. See Fla. Stat. 744.301(1). This was an issue in the case Moritz v. Stonecipher, 4D22-2999 (Fla. 4th DCA March 15, 2023).

The father filed a paternity action after he and the mother ended their relationship. At the time the relationship ended, the mother moved about 23 miles away and enrolled the child in a new school. The father filed a motion to compel the mother to return the child to the school in the district in which they all originally resided. The court granted the motion, and the mother appealed.

The appellate court determined the trial court erred. It held “An acknowledgment of paternity under section 742.10 creates a ‘rebuttable presumption’ of paternity if unchallenged after sixty days. § 742.10(1), Fla. Stat. (2014). But that section does not vest the father with any custodial rights regarding the child. Section 744.301(1), Florida Statutes (2014), states that ‘[t]he mother of a child born out of wedlock is the natural guardian of the child and is entitled to primary residential care and custody of the child unless the court enters an order stating otherwise.’ This language was added to the statute in 1997. See Ch. 97-170, § 73, Laws of Fla. Application of this statutory language means that the father’s parenting rights in this case remained inchoate until recognized by a court order. At the time of the order in this case, no order had been entered that would impair the mother’s status as the ‘natural guardian of the child’ who ‘is entitled to primary residential care and custody of the child.’ When she moved to Loxahatchee and enrolled the child in school, she had the right to do so.”

Schedule your meeting with a Miami child custody lawyer to understand how the law may apply to your case.