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Parental Rights & Responsibilities Cases (unmarried parents) If a court order is not in place, Maine law presumes that parents have equal rights and responsibilities to care for and raise their children. Parents also have a duty to support their children financially, to the extent they are able.

How do you establish paternity? Paternity can be established by: Both parents signing a voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity ("AOP") (PDF), or. An order of a District Court declaring a man the legal father of a child (this step may involve genetic testing).

With or without shared custody, a father who does not provide the child's primary residence is entitled to ?reasonable? visitation times with the child. If the father is granted primary physical custody of the child and looks after the child most of the time, the child's mother may be ordered to pay child support.

The State of Maine does not favor one gender of parent over the other in family law matters. Both parents are considered to be fit and able guardians of their child and both parents are equally entitled to have custody of their child (19-A M.R.S. §1651).

Fathers have no legal rights if paternity has not been acknowledged by signing the birth certificate, although they can be obtained through alternative ways in court. Parental decisions. Influencing essential choices regarding issues like schooling, healthcare or extracurricular activities may become difficult.

Presumption of Paternity When parents are married, the Maine law presumes that the spouse is the father/parent of the child. If the spouse is the father/parent, nothing else needs to be done. Paternity is established by presumption. Paternity is also presumed in several other ways.