To establish child custody and parenting time when a child is born outside of a marriage, a parentage action must be filed. Upon initial filing of the action, the Court may only enter immediate orders confirming the de facto custody arrangement. A “de facto” parent is a person who is the current or recent caretaker of a child and who has been found by the court to have assumed, on a day-to-day basis, the role of a parent to the child. In essence, a parent may leave a relationship with their minor child and file a paternity action confirming the child is with them, asking the Court to confirm the de facto custody. The parent will then need to serve the other parent notice of the paternity action. The unfortunate reality is in the interim of the Court being able to “hear” the matter, the child may go a significant amount of time without seeing a parent.

Once legal paternity is established, Kansas statute requires the Court to enter orders of parenting time and custody as the Court deems is in the best interest of the child. In doing so, the Court shall consider various factors to include but not limited to: each parent’s role and involvement before and after separation; desires of the child’s parents for custody; desires of the child; child’s age, child’s emotional and physical needs; relationship of the child with parents and others; child’s adjustment; willingness and ability of each parent to appreciate the bond between the child and the other parent; evidence of domestic violence; ability of the parents to communicate; the child and parent’s schedules; location of the parties’ residences and places of employment; location of the child’s school; and whether the parent or someone the parent is living with has been convicted of child abuse (K.S.A. 23-3203 (a) (1) –(18)). Neither parent shall be considered to have a vested interest in the custody of a child against another (K.S.A. 23-3204). However, getting to the point in the legal process where the Court determines these factors and makes custody and parenting time orders can take time.

Co-parents may choose to not marry, but failure to proactively establish parenting time and custody orders can result in devasting consequences for a child and parent alike. To ensure a child’s rights to both parents are protected, proactively filing a paternity action that establishes custody and parenting time orders is essential. If you or someone you know needs support deciphering custody, please contact us!