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Once paternity is established, legal fathers have the right to have a relationship with and visit the child as the father and mother agree. If the parents can't agree, they can ask the Family Court to determine visitation and custody. The court will then decide this issue, considering the best interests of the child.

WV custody law allows for the judge to award a temporary parenting plan during the custody negotiations and divorce process. The judge may decide which parent should have custody or whether it should be shared. However, the parents can also come to an agreed temporary plan to submit to the court for approval.

Who has the right to custody of a child? Unless there is a court custody order, both parents of a child have equal rights to physical possession of a child. This is true even if the parties are not married to each other.

Unwed Father ? An unwed father is an unmarried man who has a child with a woman. The unwed father must pay child support if a court finds that he is the biological or acknowledged father. An unwed father who pays child support may also have visitation rights with the child and can seek custody of the child.

The Judge's Role under the New WV Child Custody Law Under the new law, judges must approach a custody dispute with the presumption of 50-50 custody. However, they are not required to award shared custody and may allow the circumstances of the situation to dictate who gets custody in a WV divorce.

Under the law of the state of Virginia, the court gives no legal right to the father of a child such as custody and visitation if the father was never married to the mother of the child. The father must obtain a court order for him to be able to file for custody or to be granted visitations with a child.