Child Custody and Visitation

• By listing a man’s name as the father on the child’s birth certificate.
• A man may sign an Acknowledgement of Paternity to say he is the father. If the man and woman are married another man must sign a Denial of Paternity to say he is not the father. Both of these can be challenged or revoked for a short period of time afterward.
• DNA testing, whether through DHS or done privately if ordered by the court. 
• A judge in court has declared a man the father and there is a filed court order signed by a judge to record this. 
• The husband is automatically the legal father when the child is born; 
• during a marriage or, 
• 300 days after a marriage ends through either divorce or other means.
• The man lived with the child for the first two years of the child's life and openly told others he is the father. 

Note: A man can be the legal father of a child even if he is not biologically related.
 

Physical: Which parent the child spends their time with. Includes daytime and overnight visits. 

Legal: The ability of a parent to make decisions about where the child goes to school, their healthcare, religion, and other things related to their upbringing. 

These are factors a judge considers about each parent and anyone who lives with them when deciding a visitation and custody plan:

• The best interests of the child
• Wishes of the parents, and sometimes of the child
• Mental and physical health of the parties
• Relationship of the parents and child
• Sex offender registration
• Child abuse convictions
• Alcohol and illegal drug use or abuse
• Domestic abuse convictions
• Foreseeable risk of material harm
   

There are times when one parent chooses not to return the child when they should. If there is no custody order through the court, a judge or law enforcement may not help. 

With a court ordered custody plan the parent who should have the child can file a “Motion to Enforce Visitation”. This uses the court to force the other parent to return the child. Makeup visitation can also be ordered. 
 

• Week on/week off: The parents alternate whose home the child is in every other week. 
• 4:3:3:4: One parent has four overnights a week and the other has three overnights. The next week, the parents switch who has more overnights and who has fewer. 
• Expanded Weekend: The parent with fewer overnight visits has the child from Friday after school or daycare until Monday morning when school or daycare begin. 
• Standard Weekends: The parent with fewer overnight visits has the child every weekend from Friday evening until Sunday evening. 
• Alternating Weekends: The same as Standard Weekends, but alternating every other week. 
• Daytime: Time a parent spends with a child that does not include an overnight. Sometimes Daytime Visitation is the only visitation a parent has, but may also be included as additional time with any of the schedules listed above. 
• Supervised: Time a parent spend with a child, but there is always someone else present to supervise and keep an eye on the visit. The supervisor may be family, a friend, or other trusted person.
• Professionally supervised: Where a professional supervises the visit and writes reports. 
• Therapeutically supervised: Where a therapist supervises the visit and writes reports. 
• Holiday: Some national, religious, personal, or tribal events require changes to the normal schedule. Many parents choose to alternate major holidays every year.