While it is impossible to break up or divorce without impacting your child or children, it is possible to break up or divorce without hurting your child. Children are most often hurt during the divorce process because their parents are blind and deaf to the damage that their own issues are doing to their child. It’s so important to remember that you are breaking up with or divorcing the other parent, your children aren’t.

We received a question regarding child support payments from a dad in Colorado. In addition to advising him to contact a child support lawyer in Colorado, we figured that we should share some general advice about child support payments, retirement benefits, and financial losses, as well as briefly explain the differences between a community property state and an equitable distribution state.

This is a complete list of the putative father registries of each state, current as of June, 2021. Several states do not maintain putative father registries, however some of those provide alternate means for putative fathers to register themselves as the father of their child. If you were never married to the mother of your child, and have not otherwise legally established your paternity, it is important to register your paternity of your child with your state as soon as you can.

If you’re wondering “What is a putative father registry?” (or just what is a putative father generally), we’re here to clear that up for you. The term “putative” means that the putative thing is generally considered to be, or reputed to be, whatever that thing is known to be. So in the case of a putative father it means that the person is generally considered to be the father. But in the legal world this isn’t enough, a father’s paternity must be legally recognized by the fact that the father was married to the child’s mother when the child was conceived or born, or, if they were not married, then proven by legally recognized evidence, such as a DNA test.

Unmarried fathers rights are not automatic, as unmarried fathers have an extra hurdle that must be cleared which married and separated or divorced fathers don’t. As fathers’ rights attorney Anne Mitchell explains, “In most states the rights of unmarried fathers don’t even exist until the unmarried father is legally recognized as the father, and unless the father is already on the birth certificate this means that they must establish their paternity.”

We are often asked how to divorce or break up without hurting your child. In this series we share seven steps to help ensure that your children stay well adjusted after your divorce or break up, and are shielded from the fallout of your splitting up with their other parent.